Puma Hires Ex-Nike and The North Face Executive Arne Arens as Its Sales Chief

Puma has a new head of sales. The company said on October 22 that its supervisory board has appointed Arne Arens, 55, as chief commercial officer and a member of the management board from November 15. He will run Puma's global commercial organisation and marketplace strategy, overseeing its sales across every channel and market.

Arens comes from Unspun, the apparel technology company he led as CEO. Before that, Puma says, he held senior commercial, brand and general management jobs at Nike, The North Face and Boardriders, part of more than 25 years in sporting goods and the outdoor industry. He is Dutch, with an MBA from Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management. FashionUnited reports that he succeeds Matthias Bäumer, who left at the end of September; Puma's release doesn't name a predecessor.

"Arne's unique skillset combines commercial expertise, consumer insights and brand leadership," Puma CEO Arthur Hoeld said in the release, adding that Arens is "the ideal addition to PUMA as we execute our strategy and deliver on our ambition to make PUMA a Top 3 Global Sports Brand."

A new board, then a new sales chief

The hire came a day after Puma's ownership change reached the boardroom. On October 21, Puma's supervisory board elected Dennis Tao, ANTA Sports' head of M&A and capital markets, as its chairman, after a court appointed him to the board along with Jeanne Huang, a former Nike executive who is CEO of PIPA International, which works with ANTA Group's brands. Tao succeeds Héloïse Temple-Boyer as chair. Her tenure, and Jean-Marc Duplaix's as deputy chairman, ended when Artémis completed the sale of its Puma stake to ANTA earlier this month.

From November 15, Puma's management board will be Hoeld as CEO, Mark Langer as CFO, Maria Valdes as chief brand officer, Andreas Hubert as chief operating officer and Arens.

The read

The commercial job is where Puma's "Top 3" line gets tested. That means the stores and retail partners that decide how much Puma they stock, which is why Hoeld's quote leans on Arens's record with wholesale partners. Puma's own farewell to Temple-Boyer credits her with advising on a CEO succession and a "leadership renewal", and an outside hire from Nike and The North Face continues that, now with ANTA's people in the supervisory board's chair. Puma hasn't said whether the new owners had a hand in the choice.