Less than a week after Puma SE named a new chief executive officer, there has been another big leadership change.
The German athletic giant has elevated company veteran Tara McRae to the role of president of Puma North America, effective immediately. McRae most recently served as senior vice president of marketing and brand strategy for Puma North America.
With this promotion, McRae has become the first woman in Puma history to assume the president of North America role.
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“That part is crazy to me. I forget about the power of that and what that means to the organization, to the industry — especially to young women jumping into this space. I don’t take that position lightly,” McRae told WWD’s sister publication FN.
The move comes on the heels of the company’s surprise announcement last week that Adidas sales head Arthur Hoeld would be taking the reins as Puma chief executive officer, succeeding Arne Freundt.
McRae is assuming her role as Bob Philion, a 20-year Puma veteran, is also exiting the company. Puma said Philion — who assumed its head of golf role in 2005 and climbed the ladder since — is leaving to pursue other opportunities.
McRae is now one of several women leaders in the sneaker industry, a growing list that includes Under Armour president of the Americas Kara Trent, Jordan Brand president Sarah Mensah, Hoka president Robin Green and several others.
“These are amazing women and I’m very happy to be in the same sentence as them. And I do hope that this is a trend because we’ve got deep passion,” McRae said. “You see what’s happening in women’s sports. I’m a huge WNBA fan and women’s soccer and whatnot, so we’re hoping that this is all tied together to really push us forward.”
McRae held several marketing roles with Puma from 2006 to 2016, and after eight years away from the company, she returned in August 2024. During her time away from Puma, she served as the global chief marketing officer and digital officer at Clarks, and also became the first chief marketing officer at TB12.
She is also a strategic adviser for Relentless Consumer Partners and a non-executive board member at KEGG, or Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes.
McRae said she has known Philion since Day One, and worked closely with him on the inception of Puma Golf, the signing of Rickie Fowler in 2009 and the acquisition of Cobra Golf in 2010. Philion is helping her with the transition.
“Coming back and partnering with him was amazing. He’s been absolutely fantastic as a leader, as a partner, as a mentor,” McRae said. “We’ve had some amazing successes and failures, and he’s definitely taught me a lot about leadership. I will definitely miss him.”