Ryan Hogg
5 min read
In This Article:
Sitting in their Zurich headquarters, On’s sanguine co-CEO, Martin Hoffmann, and his colleague and On co-founder Caspar Coppetti, have reason to be relaxed. Another quarter of unexpected growth has notched another $3 billion to their brand’s value.
There is an elephant in the room, however. It’s not taking up much room though, given the elephant is a newly-empty seat at the CEO table.
Hoffmann will soon take on the role of On’s CEO alone when his co-CEO Marc Maurer leaves the company in June. Maurer said he planned to embark on a “new chapter” in his professional life after more than 14 years at the company.
Maurer and Hoffmann both joined On from Swiss food retailer Valora in 2012 and 2013, respectively, as COO and CFO, with Maurer wooing his friend over to what was then a little-known running startup. The pair has operated as co-CEOs since 2021.
From July, though, Hoffmann, a financial whizz by trade and by nature, will take the reins of On alone, without Maurer to lean on.
“I had a really strong relationship with Marc and a deep, deep friendship,” Hoffmann told Fortune following the release of On’s first-quarter earnings.
“I will miss that, but we have been super close, basically in all parts of the business, together with different focuses. But there are no blind spots, and we are not changing strategy.”
Hoffmann, whose priority will shift from his current dual role as CFO, admits he loves numbers as much as he does people. For a company better known for design, innovation, and cool collaborations with Gen Z idols, finance will need to take a backseat.
“The strength of On is not the numbers, it's the team,” said Hoffmann.
“My goal was to enable this team to be at their best. And I don't think this changes. The focus from where I do it will change, but the perspective stays the same.”
Hoffmann could hardly take sole charge of On in a better position.
On Tuesday, the group reported a 43% surge in revenue in the first quarter of 2025 compared with a year earlier, while it increased its revenue and profitability guidance for the rest of the year.
The last quarter marked the second in a row that On beat its revenue expectations.
New brand partnerships, including a February Super Bowl advertisement featuring tennis great and On investor, Roger Federer, and Elmo, have helped the company defy short-run expectations within a wider goal of doubling sales between 2023 and 2026.
On wrapped up its earnings week by hitting a record valuation of $19.65 billion as investors piled into the running brand in the wake of the surprise results, having started the week valued at around $16 billion. On is now the third most valuable publicly traded footwear brand in the world behind Nike and Adidas.
