"Not what you'd expect from
a typical day-to-day at PUMA."
Anja Contala and Pascal Rolling reflect on 30+ eventful years.
August 12, 2025Anja Contala and Pascal Rolling reflect on 30+ eventful years.
August 12, 2025„We need five original Fiat 500´s from in Italy. Can you make that happen, Anja?”. Not exactly your everyday task at PUMA, but when you have been part of the PUMA family for over 38 years, your job turns into something more: It becomes a treasure chest of stories that could easily fill a book. That’s how Anja Contala feels, as well as Pascal Rolling. Together, they have been receiving a pay cheque from PUMA SE Herzogenaurach every month for a combined total of more than 73 years.
The archive came across a photo showing them together in 1998. It immediately caught our attention and raised plenty of questions. What’s it like working for PUMA for over a quarter of a century? What has changed – and what has stayed the same?
The career paths of the two differ. “I started at PUMA in September 1986 with an apprenticeship in Herzogenaurach. My path then took me through Key Account Sales, and while completing my studies, I moved into the Marketing department” tells Anja Contala, now 55 years old. After taking on the role of project lead for trade fairs, most important the ISPO in Munich, and grassroots in running & teamsports, she now operates in the creative services team for Central Europe. The first touchpoint between PUMA and Anja happened way before her first direct application.“My godmother was one of the very first employees who decided to join Rudolf Dassler. You can even find her in a historical photo on the bridge!, she recalls.
Pascal’s first steps with PUMA began differently, not in Herzogenaurach, but in Strasbourg, at PUMA France. He showed real perseverance, well before his very first day on the job.
„I must have gotten on the nerves of the people at PUMA as I was insisting and insisting until I was accepted. But being involved with a sport company was my dream since I was a sport fanatic from a young age” - Pascal Rolling.
Back in 1991 Pascal started as a trainee next to his studies in international business in Metz. Two years later he moved to Herzogenaurach when PUMA created its first international marketing department with around 10 people.
“I was in charge of photo shooting, catalogues, POP materials…,but since we were a small department I was able to travel and assist at the major athletics world and European championships or Olympic Games”, tells Pascal. An everyday job description that many young PUMA employees dream of these days.
After his time working abroad in PUMA’s global marketing department in Boston, “It was a great experience to live in a different culture and also see how our brand was perceived differently there”, he returned to Europe and is now Director Sports Marketing, Running.
While reflecting on all those years, the two of them struggle with naming one single event they would describe as the biggest highlight.
“OMG - there were so many highlights!” replies Anja, somewhat overwhelmed. She remembers the important BVB signing in 2012, when the DACH team carried out a guerrilla campaign at night. "A milestone for PUMA Teamsports. There were also moments that you wouldn't initially associate with the day-to-day work at PUMA. “[...] Another highlight was a grassroots event where I had to organise 5 blue Fiat 500s from Italy - and of course there are so many more stories like that.”
Pascal describes his most memorable moment as one most of us saw on tv and thought, who is this incredibly fast new guy?. “If I really would have to choose one single occurrence it would certainly be Usain Bolt ‘s first 100m Olympic gold medal he won in Beijing in 2008”. However, we do know what Pascal is reluctant to mention: as international running marketing manager at the time, he was primarily responsible for discovering and signing Usain. We would like to take this opportunity to say once again: well done and thank you, Pascal! 😉
PUMA is fast. PUMA is agile. The company has always developed dynamically. As Anja and Pascal have been working for the cat for so long, they have certainly seen many of these changes. We asked.
“A lot has changed, of course. I started out in the building on Würzburger Straße 13 – where I remember buying my breakfast from Lothar Matthäus father, Heinz Mathäus, who was an employee in the „so called“ canteen” Anja looks back, who got the opportunity to work several times with Lothar.
Anja at a King campaign photoshoot with Lothar Matthäus...
...in Munich, 1995.
Pascal broadens the perspective on the company’s strategic development and recalls the challenging years in the early ’90s. „We struggled. We were pretty much a Franconian brand with an export department to distribute our product internationally. From there on, the evolution and growth has been spectacular”. Looking to the future, he believes PUMA will establish itself as one of the leading brands in the running performance market, „We have undisputedly some of the best performance running products out there!”.
After all these interesting insights and more importantly after getting to know two very kind people, we wanted them to tell us: ´How would you describe the PUMA culture?´
Pascal: “PUMA the brand has the same attribute as the animal and an athlete: speed, strength, endurance and agility.”
Anja: “A lot of different people from different countries and cultures all mixed on 1 address.”
