Puma Taps Adidas Veteran Andreas Hubert as New COO

Puma is looking to its eternal rival, Germany’s Adidas, to recruit its new COO. He is Andreas Hubert, who will take up the position as of September 1st this year and will become the fifth member of the sports equipment company’s board of directors.

Hubert will be in charge of global sourcing operations, which will also include the areas of sustainability, product development, information technology and logistics. Prior to his appointment, sourcing was the responsibility of the CPO, technology was the responsibility of the CFO, and the CEO was in charge of logistics.

Until joining Puma, Hubert held the position of chief information officer at Adidas, where he oversaw the company’s entire technology strategy. Hubert joined Adidas in 2005 and tooked various positions. He spent twelve years in Hong Kong, where he worked in various sourcing-related positions, including senior vice president of global sourcing.

Until joining Puma, Hubert was chief information officer at Adidas, overseeing its technology strategy

Puma CEO Arthur Hoeld noted that Hubert’s new duties include “driving digital transformation and strengthening supply chain resilience” as Puma enters its “next phase of growth.“

For his part, Hubert added that he is entering a “pivotal” moment for the company. He sees this as an “iconic proposition, with huge potential,“ and is committed to “driving digital innovation and optimizing supply chain agility.“

Thus, as of September 1st, Puma’s board of directors will be composed of CEO Arthur Hoeld, CFO Markus Neubrand, product manager Maria Valdes, commercial director Matthias Bäumer and, finally, Andreas Hubert himself, chief operating officer.

This is not the first time that Puma has recruited talent from Adidas. A few months ago, it announced the departure of its former CEO, Arne Freundt, due to “divergences over the execution of the brand strategy” after fourteen years with the company. It was then that the signing of ex-Adidas Arthur Hoeld, until then chairman of the board of directors, was announced, replacing him in the position.

Puma’s results were made public yesterday. The German company, which was already forecasting interim losses at the close of the second quarter, fulfilled the omens with red numbers of €246.6 million, compared to a positive €129.3 million in the first half of 2024.