Todd Hymel has been appointed in the new position of chief executive for Action Sports Brands at Kering, the French company that owns Puma as well as Volcom and Electric. From the start of June, the French-American citizen is to be based at Costa Mesa, California, where Volcom has its head office.
Hymel has been chief operating officer for the entire Kering Sport & Lifestyle division since January 2012. However, he already focused on the two action sports brands of the group because Puma's chief executive, Bjørn Gulden, has been working in more direct contact with Jean-François Palus, the Kering roup's managing director and chairman of Puma's administrative board.
Hymel, who is himself a member of Puma's administrative board, will retain that seat and continue to report directly to Palus. But his task from the U.S. will focus more strongly on supporting the international development of the Volcom and Electric brands. The chief executives of both brands will report directly to him. Electric, which was acquired by Volcom in 2008, has offices nearby in San Clemente.
The move reinforces the U.S. market presence of the entire Kering group, which also owns Gucci and several other luxury brands. The French group already has an office in New York but no such structure on the West Coast.
Hymel joined Kering in 2008 as deputy director in charge of mergers and acquisitions, a fact that may fuel some speculation that he will be scouring the market for further buys. However, Kering has previously stated that it would not be making any acquisitions this year, and not until Puma is fully on track again. It has also described its preferred targets as relatively small to medium-sized companies with activities that do not overlap with current assets – unlike, say, Quiksilver.
Mentioning Puma's recent profit warning, a spokesman for the Kering group confirmed this week that it has no plans to make new acquisitions this year in the sports sector.
