Puma’s global brand chief to exit amid marketing reorganization

Puma is reorganizing its global marketing organization.

The athletic apparel and shoe retailer announced Wednesday that its brand management and marketing operations departments will move from Boston to the company’s headquarters in Herzogenaurach, in Germany’s Bavaria region. The change takes effect on July 1.

As part of the transition, Puma announced that Adam Petrick, the company’s global chief brand officer, has decided not to move to Germany and is leaving the company after more than 20 years. Petrick held the position for about a year and a half, according to his LinkedIn profile. He will leave the company at the end of this year.

Puma CEO Arne Freundt said the brand is at the heart of the company’s success. Puma has an opportunity to more fully leverage and elevate its brand potential, Freundt said in the announcement. Freundt has led Puma since November, following the departure of former CEO Bjørn Gulden, who left to lead Adidas.

“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,” Freundt said in a statement. “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 first quarter of fiscal 2023, Puma’s sales rose 14.4% to about $2.4 billion (2.2 billion euros at the time). Revenue for the quarter had dipped in North America due to high inventory levels among Puma’s wholesale partners, but growth in other regions offset those losses.

When Petrick steps down, Richard Teyssier will lead the company’s global marketing as global brand and marketing director starting July 1. Teyssier joined Puma in 2010 and previously served as general manager for the French market until 2021, when he assumed responsibility for Central Europe, France, the U.K. and Ireland, and Southern and Northern Europe.

Richard Teyssier

Permission granted by Puma

Teyssier will continue to lead the company’s Europe region until a successor is announced.

Freundt thanked Petrick for his “significant contribution to Puma’s success during his more than 20-year tenure” with the company and described Teyssier as “a true marketing specialist” who is “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.”