PUMA will in the coming four years strive to strengthen its strong position in Africa. PUMA estimates the potential turnover in Africa at four times higher than today’s turnover and it will considerably tap into this potential over the next five to six years. With an impressive portfolio of more than ten PUMA-sponsored African national teams, PUMA is already indisputably the most visible football brand in Africa.
On the occasion of his visit to Africa, PUMA CEO Jochen Zeitz was delighted to start the PUMA countdown to 2010 today at a press conference in Johannesburg. “Only 1,295 days left until the 2010 World Cup. PUMA is very proud to be the official kit supplier of over 10 African teams and is already certain to make a strong mark at the first World Cup ever set on African soil.”
“The World Cup 2006 might not be over yet – but the work on our part is accomplished. We have not only reached, but surpassed our aim for this year’s World Cup. Now, it is time for us to move on to the next project: the World Cup in Africa”, says Zeitz.
Economic interests alone do not drive PUMA’s long-term commitment on the African continent. PUMA actively supports the development of African football with aid projects such as football camps. To deepen ties, PUMA announced two months ago its cooperation with the charity campaign United for Africa, the most significant aid organization for Africa in Germany, with whom PUMA will jointly gather donations and awareness.
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.

• Reorganization to improve alignment across key business categories and accelerate decision-making
• Relocation of Brand Management and Marketing Operations from Boston to Herzogenaurach-HQ
• Strengthening of local US marketing team by increased responsibilities
• Richard Teyssier appointed as new Global Brand & Marketing Director
• PUMA CEO Arne Freundt: “With the reorganization of our Global Marketing function we will lay the organizational foundation to relentlessly drive brand elevation as one of our key strategic priorities.“
As part of the implementation of its strategic priorities, German sports company PUMA is reorganizing the global Marketing Organization. The decision lays the organizational foundation for further elevating the PUMA brand, one of the company’s three strategic priorities. Going-forward PUMA’s Global Marketing Organization will be based at the company’s headquarters in Herzogenaurach, Germany to improve alignment and accelerate decision-making with the company’s Global Business Units, Global Go-To-Market function, and Creative Direction. This involves the relocation of the Brand Management and Marketing Operations departments from Boston to Herzogenaurach, effective July 1. At the same time, the marketing organization of PUMA North America will be further strengthened by the assignment of responsibilities for local sports marketing and local partnership management in order to elevate the brand in the US market.
“PUMA’s brand is at the heart of our company’s success,” said Arne Freundt, CEO of PUMA. “Yet, our analyses clearly show that PUMA has significant opportunities to leverage the full potential of its brand. This is why relentlessly elevating our brand is one of our key strategic priorities. With the Global Marketing Organization being based in proximity to our key central functions at the HQ, we will lay the organizational foundation for this. It will ensure brand consistency and speed up decision-making to further strengthen the PUMA brand and it will make us even more consumer-centric. With the new setup, we will be able to drive more impactful campaigns to further establish our brand in the minds of our consumers.”
In the context of the reorganization, PUMA’s Global Chief Brand Officer Adam Petrick has decided to not transition to Herzogenaurach, but to pursue new challenges outside of PUMA, after over two decades with the brand. He will be with the company until the end of the year to ensure a smooth transition.
PUMA’s Regional General Manager Europe Richard Teyssier will lead the Global Marketing Organization as Global Brand & Marketing Director, effective 1 July 2023. In this role, he will report directly to PUMA CEO Arne Freundt. Richard has broad expertise in brand management and marketing after 17 years in leading Marketing functions at Mars Inc., where he was responsible for some of the company’s most iconic brands, such as M&Ms and TWIX in France prior to joining PUMA in 2010. At PUMA, Richard had been General Manager for the French market until 2021 before assuming responsibility for Central Europe, France, UK & Ireland, Southern Europe, Northern Europe across all channels. He will continue to lead the Region Europe until his successor is announced.
“I would like to thank Adam Petrick for his significant contribution to PUMA’s success during his more than 20-year-tenure with PUMA,” said Arne Freundt. “With Richard Teyssier, we have found the ideal candidate to drive PUMA’s brand elevation strategy in the future. He is not only a true marketing specialist who comes with a strong expertise in brand management. He is also an integral part of our PUMA family and knows the business inside out from his more than 12 years of general management at PUMA France and PUMA Europe.”