Puma’s Abhishek Ganguly set to leave company, to set up entrepreneurial venture

Abhishek Ganguly,  managing director, Puma India & Southeast Asia, is set to leave the sportswear retailer after a nearly two-decade long stint with plans to start his own venture in the larger sportswear space, according to people familiar with the move.

Ganguly, 45, is set to leave by the retailer by the end of August. Karthik Balagopalan is set to take over from Ganguly; Balagopalan is currently global head of e-commerce and retail for Puma globally, according to people familiar with the matter. 

In 2020—the German sportswear maker Puma SE announced the elevation of Ganguly, then the company’s India managing director to general manager Southeast Asia expanding Ganguly’s role to key growth markets of Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Singapore. 

Ganguly joined the sportswear retailer's India business in 2005 as director, sales and marketing. In 2014, Ganguly was named the company’s India MD. The 2020 announcement made Ganguly—an alumnus of Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Lucknow—the first India-based manager to get a larger global portfolio.

Under Ganguly, Puma rolled out the retailer’s India-specific shopping app and clinched several large sports and lifestyle endorsement deals including those with cricketer Virat Kohli, boxer Mary Kom, and actors Kareena Kapoor and Anushka Sharma. 

In calendar year 2022 the sporting wear brand’s revenue touched ₹2,980 crore up 46% year-on-year maintaining its lead as the country’s largest sportswear brand. The retailer currently has over 475 stores.  The company is eyeing Rs3,900 crore in sales this year.

Meanwhile, Ganguly is exiting along with two other senior Puma employees namely—Atul Bajaj, currently head of sales and operations at Puma India, and Amit Prabhu, Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer at the company who are joining him in his entrepreneurial venture. Ganguly will be founder and CEO of the new venture.

Ganguly, who will continue to be part of the sports ecosystem, has raised capital for his next venture.