unboxing your career

Moritz started his career with PUMA as a dual student, continued as Junior Project Manager and today he is Senior Manager Sourcing Strategy & Projects. He works on several projects on a global scale. Being the link to several internal and external business partners, he aims to have a clear focus in his daily work.



As he is able to manage different stakeholders and projects at once, we asked Moritz how he copes with pressure in his daily work. Tune in to know more. 

"You really need to want it. So you need to work towards it. I like to work hard and to work a lot so I need to discipline myself to achieve a healthy balance. The other thing is to have an employer who is supporting and promoting it. Here in our office we have super flexible working hours and most important for me, I can work from home. I can combine both, spending time with my little son as well as taking care of my work and ensuring that I don’t miss out on anything."

Kai Wachsmuth started his career with PUMA in 2006 as a Store Manager. He had applied for a higher position but was told that first he needed to learn everything from the beginning. Kai, who back then didn’t enjoy waiting for anything, accepted the challenge. After a year of successful store operations and many side projects, he was offered a position at Visual Merchandising as a Teamleader and later as a Manager of Retail Outlet Marketing and Visual Team. Thanks to persistence and the will to strive for improvement, he got a position of Head of Operations North after a few years, which has always been his ambition. When asked for the most important lesson of his career, he replies: patience.  

“I am a very inpatient person and I want to get everything done quickly, but when it comes to your career and job development, sometimes it takes time”, says Kai. “Don’t think everything goes fast, some things require a lot of patience and hard work.”

"It’s very important that you communicate clearly your career aspirations. Make sure that not only your line manager is aware of those ambitions, but also that people around you who can help developing your career are aware of your goals. Don’t think in departmental silos, but be open to communicate your ambitions wider in the company. If people don’t know what you want, they can’t make it possible."

Challenges are not an obstacle, but an opportunity to grow and reach new levels. After 4 years at PUMA Ukraine, Yulia Lysenko took the courage to move out from her comfort area and relocate to PUMA’s headquarters in Herzogenaurach, Germany. Since then, she has worked on her personal journey and professional development and now she oversees the Europe region as Retail Training Manager.

Michel Wang, Store Manager in Montabaur, always starts the day with a smile. He faces challenges with a positive mindset, and instead of saying “I can’t do it”, he asks “how can I do it?”. His way of living a “work hard, play hard” lifestyle, is to do both at the same time. Having fun at work together with his team is the best motivation to give 120%, Michel says. The diversity of tasks and characters that he encounters daily makes his job in retail exciting. 

“Dealing with many different people, personalities and needs is a big part of my everyday life”, says Michel. “Daily contact with customers, helping and making them happy, and maintaining a good relationship with my team is what makes my job so special.”

"The biggest challenge I have faced is moving my wife and two daughters from the United States to Europe. We left our family and community behind to pursue new, international opportunities with PUMA. It is difficult and sometimes scary to be a foreigner in the new place you call home. Every day I had two goals: try not to get arrested and find the reason or beauty in things that are different. It did not take long to make new friends. Our third baby was born in Germany, which was intimidating when you don’t speak the same language as the hospital staff. Our comfort zone expanded with every passing week and new place we visited. We miss seeing people we love and familiar places but everyone agrees this was a great decision. What I didn’t realize was how much of the world I was missing and how exploring it and meeting people from different cultures would change me. This crazy international move has turned out to be the best thing for my career and our family."