Ex-Hugo Boss CEO joins Puma as CFO

Sportswear brand Puma continues its strategic evolution with the appointment of former Hugo Boss Executive Mark Langer as Chief Financial Officer.

Langer's appointment marks the fourth senior hire for Puma over the last month, highlighting a broader effort to strengthen its leadership team and accelerate its strategic repositioning.

Langer replaced Markus Neubrand, who vacated his position as CFO on 30 April and is set to leave the company 30 September.

He joined Puma after serving as CFO at cosmetics retailer Douglas for four years, where he drove profitable growth through key transformational initiatives across the finance function, according to the sportswear company.

Prior to this he spent 17 years sat Hugo Boss, serving as CEO between 2016 to 2020, and CFO for almost eight years before this. He began his career in 1995 with roles at consultancy McKinsey and the conglomerate Procter & Gamble.

Puma CEO Arthur Hoeld commented on the appointment: "I very much look forward to working with Mark, as he combines deep financial and capital market expertise with proven leadership as well as advisory experience across renowned consumer brands.

"His track record of delivering results and navigating through complex business environments will be key in achieving our goal to return to profitable growth.

Héloïse Temple-Boyer, Chair of the Supervisory Board, added that with the appointment of Langer Puma would be able to "deliver its financial ambitions and further reinforce investor confidence."

This follows reports that Puma saw a decline in performance for the first quarter of 2026, with sales reaching €1.86 billion (£1.61 billion). This represented a currency-adjusted decrease of 1% and a reported decline of 6.3%.

The company said overall sales were supported by efforts to clear elevated inventory levels, particularly through selected wholesale partners.

Looking ahead, Puma highlighted continued geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty in 2026, and that it expects currency-adjusted sales to decline in the low- to mid-single-digit range.

The company noted that this was primarily driven by weaker performance in North America due to distribution streamlining, but partially offset by growth in Latin America and the Middle East, Africa and India.

Hoeld commented on the results: "Operationally, we were off to a solid start to our transition year in 2026. We have managed to reduce our inventory levels faster than planned, streamlined our product portfolio and addressed operational inefficiencies. We have also made progress in further improving our organisation and our operational model.

"For the remainder of the year, we will continue to focus on improving the quality of our distribution, cost base and cash management. In doing so, we are laying the foundations for future growth.

"We are on track to establish Puma as a top-3 sports brand globally, return to above-industry growth and generate healthy profits in the medium term."

Langer's appointment follows several senior hires Puma has made from rival sportswear brands.

It recently appointed former Adidas executive Laurent Fricker, previously Vice President of Originals, Basketball and Partnerships Europe, to lead its Sportstyle business unit.

This followed the recruitment of James Carnes, also formerly of Adidas, who has taken on a role shaping Puma’s creative direction.

The company also added Bertrand Blanc, who has held senior roles at Nike and ASICS, as Vice President of Global Wholesale.