Puma: James Carnes (ex adidas) appointed senior vice president in charge of creative direction

James Carnes has been appointed senior vice president in charge of creative direction at Puma "effective immediately," the German sports equipment manufacturer announced on 13/04/2026.

Reporting to Maria Valdes, chief brand officer (since 27/10/2025), he is responsible for "directly overseing creative direction, innovation, and product excellence," according to Puma, which aims to "use creative direction as an important strategic lever to establish itself as a top three global sports brand." His responsabilities include aligning creative direction with the company’s overall strategic ambitions as well as creating a visual identity and a unified brand experience "across all consumer touch points."

James Carnes spent more than 19 years at adidas, joining the company in 2002 as Head of Design. Among other roles, he served as vice president Open Source (from June 2015 to June 2020), overseeing collaborations designed to foster innovation (including the partnership with Kanye West’s Yeezy brand and the Parley For The Ocean initiative aimed at repurposing plastic waste), as well as vice…