Jochen Zeitz
Jochen Zeitz
Born on April 6, 1963 in Mannheim, Germany, Jochen Zeitz is the Director and Chairman of the board’s sustainable development committee of Kering after having been the CEO of the Sport & Lifestyle division and Chief Sustainability Officerof Kering since 2010. Prior to this, Zeitz served 18 years as Chairman and CEO at Puma...
NationalityGerman
ProfessionBusinessman
Date of Birth6 April 1963
CountryGermany
acres picking relatively towels
In Africa, you can make three acres sustainable relatively easily, but 50,000 acres? It's not about picking up towels or sleeping in a tent.
happening mind open society time
Be curious enough to keep an open mind to what's happening around you in society. You can look at yourself and the world at the same time.
cold
I'm a curious person, and I always like to test new waters, and I've always jumped into the cold water and then started to think about how to swim.
although based considered corporate english felt german global rather
I never felt that although we were based in Germany, Puma was and should be considered as a German brand. So we restructured it in a way that positioned us as a global brand, with English being the corporate language, rather than us looking at it from a German perspective.
trying
I'm trying to go beyond the traditional cliches of an African safari.
bought country rich saw
I could have bought a pristine part of Tanzania. But I saw a beautiful mountain, game that could come back, and country that could be rich again.
antiquated call companies compared continuing duties environmental goods higher instead materials placed principle regardless supporting synthetic
I call upon governments to start supporting companies to use more sustainable materials in their products instead of continuing with antiquated incentives, such as import duties on synthetic materials that are in principle much higher compared with those placed on leather goods regardless of the environmental footprint.
believe business creates footprint force good impact leave negative society
I believe in 'business has a force for good.' You know, business has an impact on society. Of course, it creates jobs. It creates prosperity, but on the other hand, we also leave a negative footprint behind.
believe god greater human
I believe in metaphysics. I don't believe in God because I think that is a human simplification of the things we can't explain. But I believe in a greater universe.
accelerate opportunity practices
Governments have a unique opportunity to incentivise corporations so that they can accelerate their evolution to a more sustainable economy through more sustainable practices and products.
imagine move
I can well imagine making acquisitions so long as these are complementary to Puma and move it forward.
maybe producing sound
It may sound crazy, but maybe there's an economic way of producing a leather-like product in the laboratory.
classical music
As much as I like to explore the world, I explore music - from classical to rock.
brand close company high perceived ready
The company was ready to close its doors; there was real financial distress. But on the other side, there was high brand awareness, but that was negative because Puma was perceived as low-priced. It had lost its cachet. It was a well-known brand without a presence.