Puma has added new members to its board of directors. The fast-growing German sports equipment
brand has increased the number of operational executives in its main decision-making body from three to four.
Arne Freundt, 41, currently managing director of the EMEA region, an executive who has been with the group for 10 years, will become Puma’s new chief commercial officer effective from June 1. While continuing to oversee the EMEA region, which Freundt took charge of in 2019, he will be responsible for the various aspects of Puma’s global commercial operations, from brick-and-mortar retail to e-commerce and logistics. In this capacity, Freundt will also join Puma’s board of directors.
He is not the only new member of Puma’s board since, following the departure of Michael Lämmermann, who had worked for 28 years at Puma and had been its CFO since 2013, Hubert Hinterseher, 42, most recently the global head of financial controlling, is also joining the board. The new members will sit alongside Puma’s CEO Bjorn Gulden, in charge since 2013, who oversees product development and marketing, and Chief Sourcing Officer Anne-Laure Descours.
The board is chaired by Jean-François Palus, COO of Kering, the French luxury group that is a former owner of Puma and still a shareholder. Recently, Puma reported a 26% increase in sales in the first quarter.