PUMA’s CEO to step down at the End of March 2013

PUMAVision Headquarters (Image: PUMA)

Herzogenaurach, Germany December 12th, 2012 - The Administrative Board of PUMA SE announced today that, by mutual agreement, Franz Koch will step down from his position as CEO of PUMA and member of the Group Executive Committee of PPR SA, the main shareholder of PUMA SE, at the end of March 2013.

Jochen Zeitz’ resignation as Administrative Board Chairman as of December 1, 2012 marks the end of a chapter in the history of PUMA. The company is therefore entering a new phase in its development and is changing its top management structure to take on those challenges.

Franz Koch will remain CEO of PUMA until the end of March, and work in close collaboration with the new Chairman of the Administrative Board, Jean-François Palus, also PPR Group Managing Director, in order to secure PUMA’s on-going operational transformation and generate profitable growth.

Jean-François Palus, Chairman of the Administrative Board of PUMA SE, stated: “Together with Jochen Zeitz, Franz Koch has been the driver of strategic key initiatives and has strongly contributed to PUMA’s development over the past few years. I would like to warmly thank Franz for his efforts, commitment and dedication to PUMA, as well as his contribution to evolving the organization and management team. Going forward with the future CEO, who we aim to hire by spring 2013, we will pursue the reorganization of the company, focus on product innovation and marketing, and will continue to devote the necessary resources to the development of the brand. We are now going to write a new chapter for PUMA and thanks to the commitment and enthusiasm of the teams I’ve been meeting around the world, I am fully confident in our ability to realize the huge potential of this iconic brand”.

(Source: PUMA)