The German sporting goods provider Puma SE announced a reform of its brand marketing department on Monday and filled a key position in this context.
In the future, Maria Valdes will lead the new organization as Chief Brand Officer at board level, the company announced. In this role, she takes responsibility for the areas of brand marketing, product, creative direction, innovation and go-to-market. The 41-year-old has been a member of the company’s board of directors since 2023 and has previously held the position of Chief Product Officer.
The new organization combines product development and storytelling
The overarching new organizational unit enables Puma to “improve the storytelling for its products and make it more consistent,” according to a statement. Product development and storytelling would now “take place in parallel”. The aim is to “tell authentic and effective stories” and thus inspire consumers. As part of the reform, the sports marketing department will be separated from brand marketing and will report directly to CEO Arthur Hoeld, the company said.
The Puma boss explained the background to the realignment, which takes effect immediately: “With our fantastic archive and our leading performance products, such as our Nitro technology, we have the perfect opportunity to tell stories that inspire. However, Puma’s previous storytelling approach was too fragmented,” explained Hoeld in a statement. “By creating storytelling and product development in parallel from now on, we will strengthen our product icons and performance products and create the necessary structures to better position Puma compared to its competitors in the sports industry.”