Bjørn Gulden
Photo: Steffen Prößdorf, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons14

Bjørn Gulden

Norwegian businessman and footballer

Bjørn Gulden (born 4 June 1965) is a Norwegian businessman and former professional football player. Since January 2023, he has been the CEO of Adidas.2

From Wikipedia’s article on Bjørn Gulden (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Born Jun 4, 1965.1

About

Previously, he used to be the CEO of Puma and Pandora. He was Fortune's Businessperson of the Year in 2019.

From Wikipedia’s article on Bjørn Gulden, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.2

Companies

  • Adidas AGChief executive officer Jan 1, 2023 to now12
  • PumaChief executive officer 2013 to 202213

Early life and education

Gulden was born in Zurich, Switzerland. He earned a Bachelors of Business Administration from the University of Stavanger and a Master of Business Administration from Babson College.

From Wikipedia’s article on Bjørn Gulden (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Career

Occupation: businessperson, association football player, chief executive officer.6

Football career

Gulden grew up in Hallingdal and is the son of Arild Gulden, a former Norwegian national football and handball player. He is father of Henrik Gulden, Noah Gulden and Scott Gulden.

In his younger years, Bjørn played for the clubs Geilo and Gol, before he went to the Strømsgodset Toppfotball team in 1983.

He turned professional in 1984, playing for 1. FC Nürnberg for the 1984–85 2. Bundesliga season. In 1986, he joined Bryne FK winning the cup championship in 1987. He retired in 1988 due to a knee injury.

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Business career

Gulden began his career at Adidas in 1992 until 1999, when he became an executive at Helly Hansen. In 2000, he became the managing director of Deichmann SE and was CEO of Deichmann's U.S. subsidiary Rack Room Shoes. Between 2012 and 2013, he served as the CEO of Pandora, a Danish jewelry brand, and remained a board member until 2018. In 2013, he became CEO of German design corporation Puma.

He became CEO of Adidas on 1 January 2023, taking over after Kasper Rørsted.

From Wikipedia’s article on Bjørn Gulden (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Personal life

  • BornJun 4, 1965, Zurich7
  • CitizenshipNorway8