Puma’s CEO Bjørn Gulden and Giorgio Chiellini, captain of the Italian national soccer team at Euro2020, talked about their careers, outstanding leadership and the importance of having fun in a video interview released as part of the sports company’s annual report.
In his professional career spanning more than two decades, Chiellini has played more than 420 games for his club Juventus and is one of the players who has worn the Italian national team jersey the most times. The year 2021 was very emotional for him when he won Euro2020 with Italy. “I shared my feelings with my teammates and with the people at home in front of their televisions. That was probably the secret of my performance,” Chiellini said. “I wanted to enjoy and celebrate all the emotions that the tournament offers.
In 2021, Puma posted its best-ever results in both sales and operating profit. Gulden, who also started out as a professional soccer player, said leadership is a very complex issue and depends on each person. “You have to find your way and see that your style impresses people,” he said. “Giorgio’s attitude as a leader inspires me. You can see that he makes the other players better, and that’s the job of a leader.
As for attitude, both agreed that fun is key to maintaining motivation in the long run. “If you’re not having fun, it’s a waste of time. You spend most of your time at work. I strongly believe that you perform better when you enjoy what you are doing,” Gulden said. The 37-year-old Chiellini said he wished he had realized the power of a positive attitude sooner. “I managed to change my state of mind during my career. […] Now I can pay more attention to the situation than when I was angry or yelling at my teammates. So I lost a lot of energy on the field,” he said.
The full video of the interview is available here.
