PUMA restructures brand marketing, names new chief brand officer

PUMA has unveiled a major shake-up of its brand marketing structure as it looks to strengthen storytelling across product and brand touchpoints.

The sports company will merge its product creation, innovation, go-to-market, and brand marketing functions into a single structure aimed at delivering more consistent and impactful brand narratives. 

Under the new structure, product creation and storytelling will run in parallel, a move designed to ensure authenticity and alignment from concept to consumer.

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As part of the reorganisation, Maria Valdes (pictured), previously chief product officer, has been appointed chief brand officer and will oversee the newly consolidated division at the management board level.

Valdes, who joined PUMA’s management board in 2023, will now lead brand marketing, product, creative direction, innovation, and go-to-market. Brand marketing had previously reported to CEO Arthur Hoeld, while go-to-market fell under chief commercial officer Matthias Bäumer.

Meanwhile, sports marketing will be separated from brand marketing and continue to report directly to Hoeld. The organisational changes take effect immediately.

“With our amazing archive and our cutting-edge sports-performance products, including our NITRO-technology, we have the clear opportunity to tell stories that resonate, but PUMA’s previous approach to storytelling was too fragmented,” said Hoeld.

He added, “By putting storytelling and product creation side by side, we will strengthen our product icons and sports performance products and create the clarity and structure that is needed to better position PUMA against its competition in the sporting goods industry.”

The reorganisation comes as PUMA strengthens its regional marketing leadership. The brand recently appointed Gabriel Yap as senior director of marketing for Southeast Asia. Yap, who most recently served as regional senior marketing director at ASICS, unveiled his departure on LinkedIn, marking the end of a seven-year stint with the brand.

In his new role, Yap is tasked with driving the strategic development, execution, and performance of PUMA’s marketing initiatives across SEA, focusing on consistent brand positioning and stronger brand equity across key markets. He will oversee brand marketing efforts in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam, reporting to Sanjay Roy, managing director for SEA and Oceania (SEAO).

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