Bjørn Gulden, former CEO PUMA, has been appointed new CEO at adidas. The Norwegian top executive has been with PUMA for the past nine years and will join adidas from January 2023. Gulden will succeed current CEO Kasper Rorsted, who will step down in November 2022.
Bjørn Gulden
Bjørn Gulden is no stranger to the sneaker world. From 1992 to 1999, the top executive worked at adidas, where he served as Senior Vice President in various departments. Later, Gulden joined the team at Helly Hansen, Pandora and in 2013 he started at PUMA.
Over the past nine years, Gulden has put PUMA back on the map. His visions brought the German company record results and he was responsible for collaborations with Rihanna, Jay-Z and Selena Gomez, among others. This strategy with collabs worked so well for PUMA that the company soared in market shares in basketball.
Even adidas seemed to have mastered this strategy with collabs well, with Kanye West and his Yeezy line as a major player. However, in 2022, this collaboration, which had been running since 2014, was discontinued with all its consequences. For instance, without Kanye West, adidas will take a $250 million financial hit.
This resulted in the resignation of current CEO Kasper Rorsted. On 11 November 2022, Rorsted's contract will end early and Bjørn Gulden will become his successor. According to adidas, a good decision: "As CEO of Puma, he re-invigorated the brand and led the company to record results. We are convinced that Bjørn Gulden will head adidas into a new era of strength and is looking very much forward to a successful cooperation," said Thomas Rabe, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer adidas.