Be Together. #SPEEDANDSPIRIT

 Tanja Fleishmann’s story:

A modest person, Tanja Fleischmann, Team Head for Apparel Development-Team Sports, describes herself as a typical Franconian. She comes from Coburg, Germany, a Franconian city a little more than an hour’s drive from PUMA Headquarters, but with a passion for fashion, international experience and a foothold in a field characteristically dominated by men, Tanja is anything but typical.

“My team is definitely the most important thing in my work life”

Nine years ago she applied at PUMA, unsure about whether Team Sports would be a good fit, but half way through her first year she fell in love with the job. Promoted to Team Head five years ago, she says that she can’t imagine doing anything else.

Slow to talk about herself, she shines most when she talks about her Apparel Development team and their progress together over the years. My team is definitely the most important thing in my work life. She goes on to liken their work together to the work of the players on the soccer field—working together, trusting one another, playing together and making goals.

Observant and a lover of organization, it took some time for Tanja to adapt to the fast pace of the FOREVER FASTER era. However, the challenges ignited Tanja's passion for the brand and fuelled her natural drive to do good work. As the new era took speed, the value of team and togetherness increased for Tanja.

Her team today is made up of several different nationalities and cultures. Aside from the excitement of developing state of the art products, the diversity in Team Sports is what makes the department so innovative. It also magnifies the need to be clear and precise. For a leader, it’s all about communication. You need to spend time talking and understanding the people you work with. Otherwise you’re doing your job purely based on assumptions-- And that doesn’t work at all. It’s insights like these that make Tanja seem wise beyond her years.

"Getting to see the look of pride on their faces when they saw the clothing that we had developed out on the field made everything worth it.”

She explains the stress associated with developing a product collection for a Championship Tournament and ends up talking about one of her favorite moments on the job. Getting to attend one of the Borussia-Dortmund games with her apparel development team was really a highlight, she says, Seeing the look of pride on their faces when they saw the clothing that we had developed out on the field made everything worth it.