Germany’s Puma appoints James Carnes to new creative leadership role

Sports company PUMA has appointed James Carnes, an experienced design, brand, and strategy leader, as its new Senior Vice President Creative Direction with immediate effect. In this newly created role, James will directly oversee creative direction, innovation, and product excellence and report directly to Chief Brand Officer (CBO) Maria Valdes.

With more than two decades of experience in the sports industry, James brings a unique combination of skills, which will help PUMA use creative direction as an important strategic lever to establish itself as a top-3 global sports brand.

Puma has appointed James Carnes as senior vice president creative direction.
Reporting to Maria Valdes, he will oversee creative direction, innovation, and product excellence.
With over two decades of experience, including leadership roles at Adidas, he will align design strategy with business goals to strengthen Puma’s global brand appeal and market position.

“James is a very highly regarded leader in our industry and he has been instrumental in shaping some of the most influential performance and lifestyle products, labels, and platforms,“ said Maria Valdes. “With a strong background in industrial design and a deep understanding of both athletes and consumers, he will play an important role in getting our customers and consumers excited about PUMA once again.”

Until 2021, James held several leadership positions in design, creative direction and strategy at adidas, both in Herzogenaurach and Portland, Oregon. Most recently he worked as an independent consultant and investor in the wider industry.

At PUMA, James will align creative direction with the company’s overall strategic ambitions, set the seasonal direction for the Business Units and create a long-term look and feel for the brand across consumer touch points.

“Creative Direction is about more than seasonal trends and colours. It is about defining how PUMA holistically presents itself in the market, harnessing the company’s portfolio of world class innovation, and deeply connecting with consumers,” said James Carnes. “We have the amazing opportunity to modernize the image and style of one of the most iconic sports brands in the world and I look forward to leading our teams and collaborating with my colleagues to make this happen.”