In the case of Adidas, Gulden and Pumas, the Swiss replaces Kasper Rorsted, who left the multinational on November 11, while Arne Freundt replaces Gulden at Puma.
Gulden arrives at Adidas at a complex time for the company, since not only has its commercial relationship with rapper Kanye West ended, which in the short term will cost it around 250 million dollars, but the German company is facing an economic slowdown in the western markets.
On the other hand, Puma is in a good moment. During the third quarter of 2022, the also German registered an increase in its sales of 16.9%, to 2,354 million euros, so that, in his professional career, Bjørn Gulden has a great challenge in front of him.
“When people feel success is when they change places the most and when there is more turnover in companies. Each person plays with their motivational levels to find new challenges and it is very valid that those challenges are found in the company in front of them. This change makes sense when the person is ready for growth, but also to face new challenges that they no longer find in their current job”, says Vanessa Castañeda, executive coach and teacher at the Banking and Commercial School (EBC).
Is it legal to leave with the competition?
In Mexico, there are no legal repercussions and it is valid to resign to work with the competition, points out Andrew Richard Grepe, partner at GLZ Abogados, and specialist in labor law.
“No one can prohibit the work that a person can perform as long as it is legal and in accordance with the law. It is even a constitutional right (embodied in article 5) to be able to perform freely in the profession or trade that is desired ”, he details.
As it is a job termination, where there is voluntary manifestation, it is customary to stipulate in writing that both the company and the worker will not retaliate against the other.
In this way, both the employee and the company are satisfied that there is no future issue that could result in a possible dispute, and in this sense, no company has the legal powers to prohibit a former employee from working for a competitor. .
“The non-competition clauses are inapplicable to workers in accordance with Mexican law, so a worker cannot be forced not to work in the competition or in the company of preference that he so desires,” Grepe reaffirms.
Working in the competition, does it look good on the resume?
For Rodrigo Díez, founder of the branding consultancy Padre Group, the executive has been able to build his personal and professional brand, by taking lateral leaps in his career and between companies that operate in the same line of business.
“If a person already has experience in a certain field, the most natural thing to do is to work for a company in the same line of business. It is even possible that by doing lateral jumps he can scale faster than if he does it vertically and in the same company, ”he points out.
Horizontal growth allows the acquisition of new skills that make a professional more attractive and competent to occupy other positions of greater responsibility, even in an organization where he previously worked, as is the case with Gulden.
This practice of going to work with the competition, either for pleasure or for ‘theft’ of talent, is very common in the labor market. However, Tania Arita, regional manager of Manpower Group Talent Solutions, says that not all companies welcome back people who leave, even if they have acquired more skills and experience.
That is why there are organizations that offer internal and even geographic horizontal growth to retain staff, he says. “From Manpower Group we see that there are companies that specify in their internal policies not to accept that people return if they go with the competition.”
Others are open so that people can go out, explore and come back with new knowledge and practices, he adds. “I think it’s important that organizations give this option because it can help them increase productivity and grow the business. Plus, this is going to keep happening.”