Shares of On Holding on Wednesday, March 25, fell $4.41, or 11.2 percent, to $35.17 after the Swiss running brand surprised investors by announcing that CEO Martin Hoffmann will step down on May 1 for personal reasons, and be succeeded by Co-Founders David Allemann and Caspar Coppetti in co-CEO roles.
Analysts said the move created more uncertainty for investors about On’s strategy.
The announcement marks the second major C-suite change in a year for the Swiss sportswear company founded in 2010 in Zurich by Olivier Bernhard, Caspar Coppetti and David Allemann. Hoffmann became On Holding’s sole CEO in April 2025, after leading the company through its 2021 initial public offering alongside then-co-CEO Marc Maurer.
Hoffmann, having served as CEO for five years and CFO for 13 years, is also considered the “face” of the company by investors, who will need to become further acquainted with Allemann and Coppetti and potentially see strategy changes.
The change at the helm also comes as the 16-year-old company navigates a shifting tariff landscape and soft consumer sentiment in the U.S., its largest market. Earlier this month, the company forecast muted annual sales growth, and its shares slumped about 40 percent since hitting a record high of $64.04 in January 2025.
On the positive side, many analysts noted that On did not change guidance for the year and expressed confidence in sell-side analyst calls regarding its growth prospects.
The changes also come as On is planning to hold an Investor Day later this year to discuss its 2030 objectives that are expected to include major pushes into new categories. With the moves, On’s co-founders become more involved in executing the strategy. In a press release, On said, “Designed to even more closely connect founder-led strategic intent with execution, the updated model ensures On remains agile and decisive while continuing to scale.”
Hoffmann will onboard and transition the CFO role to Frank Sluis and remain an advisor through March 2027. In January, On announced that Sluis, former CFO for Europe and Indonesia at Ahold Delhaize, would join the company as CFO on May 1.
Among other changes announced on March 25, Scott Maguire was promoted to president, adding to his recent promotion to COO in charge of product research and development and technology. Maguire initially joined the company in April 2025 as chief innovation officer after previously serving as CEO of Specialized Bicycle Components’ innovation team and as COO at Dyson, the household appliance giant.
Effective May 1, 2026, Allemann and Coppetti will assume the roles of co-CEOs, while continuing as executive co-chairmen of the Board. The third co-founder, Olivier Bernhard, will continue spearheading key performance product initiatives and athlete engagement as an executive member of the Board.
The majority of analysts maintained favorable ratings on On’s stock, with many expressing confidence in the reshaped management team.
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At Tesley Advisory Group, Cristina Fernández kept her “Outperform” rating but lowered her price target to $60 from $64.
Fernández wrote in a note that the news of Hoffmann’s departure came as a surprise, given his long tenure at On and his recent elevation to sole CEO.
“During his tenure, the company has delivered strong growth, executed well, and delivered on its financial targets. As such, analysts and investors have trusted his leadership and financial guidance, and he will be missed,” said Fernández. “Having said that, Mr. Allemann and Mr. Coppetti have been deeply involved in the company’s strategy and operations and are often on the earnings calls, so the leadership transition should be relatively smooth.”
She noted that since On’s inception, Allemann has been leading retail, digital and apparel, while Coppetti has been guiding global sales and running.
Fernández also noted that the two co-founders will be “spearheading the company’s next growth phase, which will focus on product innovation, including expanding into new sports and commercializing the LightSpray technology, elevating the product and customer experience as On looks to maintain its premium sportswear positioning and shortening lead times to bring products to market faster.”
She also commended the promotion of Maguire to balance the team, writing, “Logistics is an area that the new co-CEOs have not been deeply involved with, and in that respect, the elevation of Scott Maguire makes sense to ensure operational execution and superior customer service across wholesale and DTC.”
Fernández still said the leadership transition “creates near-term risk as analysts and investors become familiar with the new team and approach to financial guidance,” with her price cut reflecting “lower valuations across the market.”
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At Citi Research, Paul Lejuez reiterated this “Buy” rating at a $60 target. Lejuez said the timing of the move relates to management preparing to present a 2030 plan and Martin’s personal decision to step away. He likewise expects Maguire’s promotion to essentially take on “day-to-day operations” to help with the transition.
“We expect a smooth transition and do not believe any of ONON’s priorities will change,” said Lejuez. “We expect the team to focus on faster lead times, faster go-to-market and faster innovation. Although ONON did not reiterate guidance, we believe trends remain strong, as Coppetti indicated their excitement about the year ahead is as high as it was yesterday.”
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Williams Trading’s Sam Poser maintained his “Hold” rating while reducing his price target to $41 from $44 due to the C-level changes.
“We remain concerned that ONON does not have the necessary ground game in place to understand and execute against the nuanced differences between and within the store base of its wholesale accounts,” said Poser.
He noted that, while On indicated that Hoffmann was departing for personal reasons, he believes On needs to become more streamlined to achieve its long-term objectives.
“Multiple things may be true at the same time,” Poser said. “Mr. Hoffmann said, on a sell-side follow-up call, that he thought it prudent to announce his planned departure prior to internal meetings to discuss 2030 objectives. On the same call, Mr. Coppetti made it clear that the founders have been involved in running the company.” He also pointed to Coppetti’s continued confidence in On’s outlook for 2026.
Poser wrote, “It was clear that ONON leaders believe that the company needs to become more streamlined and nimbler, and the promotion of Mr. Maguire would facilitate improved nimbleness. We are hopeful, but not convinced, that Mr. Maguire will facilitate the use of a more targeted distribution strategy, rather than applying a broad brush.
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Randy Konik, at Jefferies, reiterated his “Underperform” rating at a $30 price target. He believes the changes are a reaction to “biz complexity rising” and regained momentum by Nike that will make it harder to “sustain the easy share gains” going forward. He also believes On faces an overreliance on product that “share a similar look.” His team’s channel checks further show markdowns rising and he expects On will likely miss sales and earnings targets for 2027.
Konik wrote, “We expect ONON’s growth will moderate through ’26 and beyond, as the company faces tougher comparisons, rising competition, and DTC/Apparel benefits plateau. Wholesale door expansion is slowing and ONON appears increasingly dependent on paid search to drive DTC traffic. 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.”
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At Stifel, Peter McGoldrick maintained his “Buy” rating at a $59 target. He believes “go-forward leadership team has greater delineation of responsibilities,” with Allemann and Coppetti driving brand and strategy; Maguire leading product and operations, and Sluis leading financials. He also doesn’t see the moves as an indication of changes in the health of the underlying business.
McGoldrick said, “Big picture, we are surprised to see Mr. Hoffmann leave, but believe the company has a compelling growth trajectory from regional growth, category expansion, and channel penetration. With a profitably growing core meaningfully outpacing the athletic and lifestyle space, strong viability, and current momentum supporting potential upside through 2026, we view a pullback in shares as a potential buying opportunity of a global share gainer.”
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Bernstein Research analyst Aneesha Sherman reiterated her “Outperform” rating at a $70 price target.
Sherman credited Hoffman with helping evolve On from a Swiss startup into a multi-billion-dollar brand. She said in a note, “In partnership with the co-founders, Hoffmann engineered the financial framework and strategic discipline that underpinned the company’s IPO in 2021 and its growth to CHF 3+b in sales.”
However, she expects On to benefit from Maguire’s over 20 years of experience leading global brands. She noted that since joining On, he has led the scale-up of LightSpray technology and the development of Superfoam innovations for the Cloudsurfer 3.
Sherman also noted that On returns to a co-CEO model, but with the founders taking control. Sherman said, “Today’s move reverses the single-CEO model adopted at that time — but with founders, rather than professional managers, at the helm, reflecting the company’s stated priority of preserving the entrepreneurial speed that has defined On since inception.”
Image courtesy On Holding AG
See below for additional SGB Executive coverage of this developing story:
EXEC: On Founders Allemann and Coppetti Taking the Co-CEO Reins; Hoffman to Exit
EXEC: On Holding AG Names New CFO as Hoffman Moves to CEO Full Time
EXEC: On Holdings to Transition Leadership as Co-CEO Marc Mauer Plans Exit
