Since first breaking the pole vault world record in February 2020, Mondo has been in a class of his own. He won gold at the 2020 Olympic Games, the 2022 World Athletics Championships – both indoor and outdoor –the 2022 European Championships and the Diamond League. He also improved on his world record performance twice in 2022, which now stands at 6.21 meters.

At only 23 years old, Mondo, who started pole vaulting in his parents’ backyard as a child, says he still has more to achieve in his sport.
“I’m very grateful for the position I’m in right now, but I feel that there is still a lot more work ahead of me and that I can reach much higher goals,” Mondo told PUMA after winning the award. “I’m going to try to keep pushing the limits, pushing the barriers, and see how far I can go. I really believe that I still have more in the tank.”

Mondo, who has been a PUMA Athlete since 2019, performs in PUMA’s EvoSpeed Tokyo Nitro shoes, which combines PUMA’s responsive, nitrogen-injected foam midsole with a state-of-the-art carbon-fibre infused upper and a lightweight spike outsole.

Current world records in PUMA shoes are triple jump (Jonathan Edwards, 1995), 1,000m (Noah Ngeny, 1999), 3,000m Steeplechase (Saif Saaeed Shaheen, 2004), 100m and 200m (Usain Bolt, 2009), 400m hurdles (Karsten Warholm, 2021), and pole vault (Mondo Duplantis, 2022).

“As General Manager of our Sportstyle business unit, Maria has demonstrated a strong product expertise, a great service attitude towards our retail partners and a deep knowledge of our target consumer”, said Arne Freundt, Chief Executive Officer at PUMA. “I am convinced that her positive energy and relentless pursuit in pushing things forward make her the ideal candidate for this new role.”

Maria has been with PUMA since 2010 and worked as Senior Head of Product Line Management Footwear before becoming General Manager Sportstyle in 2019. Before her time at PUMA, she worked in product development and marketing for both L’Oréal and Inditex.

Starting January 1, 2023, PUMA’s Board of Management will consist of four members, including Arne Freundt (CEO), Hubert Hinterseher (Chief Financial Officer), and Anne-Laure Descours (Chief Sourcing Officer).

“We are very grateful to be recognized as a Top Employer in 22 countries, four regions and also globally for the first time,” said Dietmar Knoess, Global Director of People and Organization at PUMA. “We offer an inclusive and attractive workplace and aim to constantly improve to give our people what they need to thrive in their careers.”

Led by its Employer Value “Be You” PUMA offers its staff a fair work environment and equal opportunities, regardless of who they are or where they are from. People from 75 nationalities work at PUMA’s headquarters in Herzogenaurach Germany. Globally, 44% of leadership positions are filled by women.

PUMA is dedicated to constantly improve the health and wellbeing of its employees and offers a wide range of services and benefits. For example, PUMA employees have access to a large variety of courses, free access to a gym and sports courts, while flexible working hours allow for a better work/life balance.

The Top Employer survey covers six areas and 20 topics such as People Strategy, Work Environment, Talent Acquisition, Learning, Diversity & Inclusion and Wellbeing.

The Super PUMA PFP NFT will be complementary to PUMA’s other ongoing NFT project, the Nitro Collection, which will continue to be PUMA’s vehicle to release new, innovative shoe styles.

Current Nitro Collection NFT holders will continue to get first access to PUMA’s next futuristic wave of footwear and receive a PFP NFT for every Nitro Collection NFT they have. Additionally, as part of PUMA’s partnership with 10KTF, the Super PUMA PFP NFT will be part of the 10KTF ecosystem. 10,000 Super PUMA PFP NFTs will be available in total. In late February, all Nitro Collection NFT holders will be airdropped a Super PUMA PFP, an additional 4,000 Super PUMA PFPs will be sold publicly for non-NITRO holders, while the remaining 2,000 will be saved for PUMA’s partnership with 10KTF.

Additionally, the Super PUMA NFT will be a 10KTF partner collection. PUMA will be the first traditional brand to have a PFP in the 10KTF ecosystem. This will allow holders to place their Super PUMA on 10KTF blanks and participate in 10KTF missions.

The Super PUMA PFP NFT announcement marks the one-year anniversary since PUMA became one of the first brands to register its ENS domain, Puma.eth in February 2022. Furthermore, it marks the first of several digital innovations that the brand plans to release this year, as it continues to use Web3 as a vehicle for its “FOREVER.FASTER.” mission. This will include new and innovative phygital product offerings and collaborations with credible brand partners through growing partnerships.

“Fighting climate change as we simultaneously attempt to make our supply chain more agile and responsive to changing consumer needs is not something any business can achieve alone,” said Anne-Laure Descours, PUMA’s Chief Sourcing Officer. “By joining forces with like-minded companies, we can scale and accelerate our combined positive impact and live up to our mission to be forever better.”

Zero100 offers access to proprietary thought leadership and research. Through its reports, events, content and connections, Zero100 helps its members accelerate progress on critical initiatives.

“At Zero100, we are committed to supporting supply chain transformation that enables both business success and the long-term protection of vital resources. Innovating to achieve more equitable and agile supply chains is a challenge that, when overcome, will generate positive impact on a global scale,” said Zero100 CEO Olly Sloboda. “By collaborating with - and learning alongside industry peers, we can all get there faster. We’re looking forward to partnering with PUMA to help them scale and accelerate their positive impact.”

As part of its Forever Better sustainability strategy, PUMA has set a science-based reduction target for carbon emissions to do its part to support the goals of the Paris Agreement.

With innovative designs such as the first football boot with screw-in studs in 1952, the legendary brush spike of 1968, the pioneering RS-Computer Shoe in 1986, the first laceless sports shoe DISC in 1991 or PUMA’s state of the art FASTER+ track and field spikes, in which Karsten Warholm broke the 400m hurdles world record at the Tokyo Olympics, PUMA established a culture of firsts and gave its athletes the tools to be faster and to perform at the top of their game.

But PUMA also had a strong influence on culture beyond sports. Its iconic SUEDE was the shoe of choice for break-dancers and hip-hop artists in the 1980s and PUMA collaborated with legendary designers and artists such as Rihanna, Jil Sander and Alexander McQueen to create daring new products and collections which will forever be linked with the history of design and fashion.

“PUMA’s founder Rudolf Dassler spoke about giving his athletes the agility and performance of a big cat, today we call this attitude being ‘Forever Faster’,” said Adam Petrick Chief Brand Officer at PUMA. “We are extremely proud of our 75 years of history in which we have pushed sports and culture forward and we want to share this amazing story in 2023.”

The first event to mark the 75th anniversary will be held at the start of the 2023 Formula 1 season in Bahrain to celebrate PUMA’s rich history in motorsport.

Kiplagat will wear PUMA’s latest road running shoes such as the Deviate NITRO Elite 2, which is made with a carbon fiber PWRPLATE that ensures stability and maximum running efficiency combined with the supreme cushioning of PUMA’s NITRO Elite foam.