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On Holding (ONON -3%) stumbles today after announcing that co-CEO Marc Maurer will leave the Swiss athletic footwear maker in July following his 12-year tenure. The current CFO and the other co-CEO, Martin Hoffmann, will become the sole CEO of the company. Along with the leadership update, ONON made several other executive changes, naming a new Chief People Officer, Chief Innovation Officer, Chief Communications Officer, and Chief Supply Chain Officer.

• Investors are feeling the sting associated with the loss of Marc Maurer today. The outgoing co-CEO helped the company go public in 2021. While the IPO preceded a broader stock market sell-off in 2022, Marc Maurer helped to initiate a quick rebound, ultimately outperforming some of its closest rivals in NIKE (NKE) and Adidas (ADDYY).
• Focusing on innovation was vital to ONON's ability to outrun NKE, whose shoes started growing stale. Throughout 2022, when supply chain challenges weighed on revenue growth, ONON stayed committed to launching new running styles, which quickly saw significant traction with online customers and retail partners.
  • Speaking of which, while NKE pivoted aggressively to DTC, ONON was strengthening ties with its wholesale partners, which resulted in the company reaching over CHF 1 billion in net sales within its wholesale channel, all while its DTC channel experienced rapid growth.
• Marc Maurer is departing in the middle of ONON's three-year roadmap outlined in late 2023. The company's aspirations for 2026 revolve around winning the running segment of the footwear market through the launch of many new products, bolstering its Cloudmonster, Cloudsurfer, and Cloudrunner lines, each of which have already seen growth from +60-140% yr/yr in 2024. ONON is also looking to become a complete head-to-toe sportswear brand, having already realized over CHF 100 million in net sales from apparel last year.

Still, Marc Maurer leaves a company amid strong upward momentum, posting three straight quarters of accelerating top-line growth. Even though the macroeconomic environment is beginning to wobble, ONON is tracking ahead of its planned +26% three-year net sales CAGR, supported by a strong start to 2025. The company expects its momentum to persist, anticipating to continue outgrowing its three-year plan this year, albeit by 1 pt. Soon-to-be sole CEO Martin Hoffmann noted last month that its +27% top-line growth guidance for 2025 incorporates a certain level of prudency due to economic conditions, adding that when looking at preorders for the upcoming seasons, they signal robust growth rates that may be clouded by the macro environment.

Bottom line, the loss of co-CEO Marc Maurer is deflating. However, ONON has continued to demonstrate its ability to deliver accelerating revenue growth despite a global economy that has bogged down growth for many of its peers, reflecting brand loyalty and an innovative edge in the footwear space that can continue under Martin Hoffmann.