On’s Leadership Shakeup Challenges Confidence In Its Next Phase Of Growth

“The best time to elevate your game is when you are already breaking your own records,” said On co-founder and in-coming co-CEO David Allemann.Courtesy of On HoldingOn, the Swiss-based premium performance brand, is reshuffling its C-suite deck, the second time in only a year. And the news has rattled the investor community, coming at a pivotal time after the company reached its three-year goal of doubling revenues to CHF 3 billion and achieved its adjusted EBITDA profitability objective of 18%, as outlined in its 2003 Investor Day presentation. Before the announcement, On Holding shares were trading just around $40, but are currently trading just over $32. CEO Martin Hoffmann, who’s been with the company for 13 years, is stepping aside in what was described as a “planned hiatus.” Co-founders David Allemann and Caspar Coppetti are stepping back in as co-CEOs— following a shared leadership model that helped propel the company forward during its earlier growth years. As part of the restructuring, chief innovation officer Scott Maguire, who joined the company a year ago after nearly two decades at Dyson and rising to COO there, is being promoted to president and COO. The changes will take place on May 1.Jefferies analyst Randall Konik interpreted the leadership shifts not so much as the “next chapter of growth”—how the company framed the announcement—but as a sign of instability as the brand faces increased business complexity and greater competitive pressure, most notably from Nike. “Bottom line: we see parallels with brands such as K-Swiss or Puma—brands that, historically, have had a niche, then a star moment, then fade.”Coming Off A HighOn Holding certainly had its “star moment” in fiscal 2025 as revenues grew 30% to reach $3.8 billion with an 18.8% adjusted EBITDA margin. However, net income took a 16% drop to $255 million, signaling the stress of scaling the business—it grew from about 50 stores in 2024 to 67 at the end of 2025. The company’s guidance for 2026 also shook investor confidence. Net sales are expected to grow about 23%, a step down for a company that has been racking up 30%+ growth in recent years. The slower rate of growth was noticeable in fiscal 2025. Revenue was up 43% in the first quarter, but slowed to 32% in the second, 25% in the third and 23% in the fourth. That guidance caution was further warranted since revenues in the Americas—On’s largest market, accounting for nearly 60% of sales—rose only 18% last year.MORE FOR YOUHoffmann, who’s been the reassuring face of On before the investor community since going public in 2021—he joined On as chief financial officer in 2013, then co-CEO/CFO in 2021 and CEO/CFO since July 2025—said in an earnings statement, “We enter 2026 with confidence and conviction, ready to ‘Dream On’ bigger and bolder than ever before.” He stressed the company’s “powerful financial engine” and increased investment in the company’s retail footprint and expansion into apparel and new sports beyond running and tennis. However, Jefferies’ Konik sees these initiatives as risky. Retail expansion and the moves into apparel and new categories are both capital-intensive and may take longer to get off the ground. “The upside exists, but the distribution of outcomes is wide,” he wrote, adding, “performance-sports entries are littered with examples where brand heat didn’t translate across categories,” pointing to Under Armour’s struggles to extend beyond its core.Co-Founders Reassert AuthorityAs Allemann and Coppetti return to full-time leadership, they’ve never been far from company operations. They, along with third co-founder, Olivier Bernhard, have remained actively involved as executive board members, with Allemann historically steering On’s marketing efforts and Coppetti overseeing global sales. Their renewed operational roles restores the founder-led model that propelled On’s early trajectory.While the company emphasized their return as a continuity move, Konik warned, “CEO transitions at a company still positioning itself in the early innings tend to widen the perceived risk band,” and said the uncertainty and disruption it shows suggests, “something more fundamental is brewing.”Not all analysts are flashing warning lights.

Baird Equity Research senior analyst Jonathan Komp wrote that Allemann and Coppetti are “exceptionally positioned to lead On’s next chapter of growth.” They set the brand’s original vision and have been hands on in the company’s strategy since the start. Komp also applauded the elevation of Maguire to president and COO, calling him a “product-led operator” who brings an “important fresh perspective” to the C-suite. That has been proven as he spearheaded the brand’s new LightSpray innovation since joining the company. Doubling Down on InnovationLightSpray technology produces an ultra-light, lace-free shoe upper that conforms to the wearer’s foot. It’s a fully robotic manufacturing process that forms the shoe’s upper in just three minutes, dramatically reducing production steps and waste. LIghtSpray robotic technologyCourtesy of On HoldingThe result is a super-light shoe that marathon runner Hellen Obiri wore to win the Boston Marathon. On sees LightSpray as its next major innovation, promising to enhance upper performance much as its CloudTec innovation transformed midsole cushioning. On is betting big on LightSpray to showcase its leadership in athletic innovation. “On has not only revolutionized how a product looks, feels and functions, but also its engineering, design and development process,” the company stated, adding that the technology allows near-instant new product prototyping. The company also sees LightSpray applicable to a wide variety of products in the sportswear industry.Currently, On operates two LightSpray facilities, a small one in Zurich and a just opened factory in South Korea that expanded production capacity thirty-fold. Additional production facilities are planned in the Americas and across Europe.Tough Act To FollowWhile Jefferies Konik questions the timing of On’s leadership change, the company insists there is no time like the present. “The best time to elevate your game is when you are already breaking your own records,” Allemann said in a statement. “By unifying founder-led strategic intent with our operational core, we aim to move faster, stay relentlessly focused on product heat and continue pushing boundaries of what a sportswear brand can be.”It will take time to determine whether this was the right call. Restoring the founders—who, by definition, are visionaries, with instincts that are harder for quantitative-driven investment analysts to grasp—puts a product-first, engineering mindset to the fore. Writing on the Motley Fool, analyst Travis Hoium commented “returning to a Co-CEO founder model could pay off long-term.” But he added the change carries risks. Perhaps the biggest risk of all is that investors got accustomed to the outstanding results Hoffmann delivered during his tenure. Now it rests on the new leadership team to match, even exceed, his track record. As for Hoffmann, he’s earned his hiatus, having worn two mission-critical hats for so many years. His CFO duties will be taken over by Frank Sluis on May 1, who had been CFO for Ahold Delhaize, overseeing a €30 billion business in Europe and Indonesia. Hoffmann will continue as an advisor through March 2027.