On Holding Appoints Co-Founders as CEOs

Lead paragraph

On Holding announced on March 25, 2026 that it has appointed two of its co-founders to run the company as co-chief executive officers, a structural change that underscores investor attention on leadership and execution at fast-growing apparel technology companies (source: Investing.com, Mar 25, 2026). The decision returns founding leadership to the helm following a period of external executive management, and comes five years after the company's September 2021 listing (source: company filings, Sept 2021). The move is both operational — signaling a renewed emphasis on product and brand stewardship — and governance-focused, prompting immediate scrutiny from investors on succession planning, board oversight, and strategic alignment. Given On Holding's premium valuation relative to historic peers at IPO, any leadership alteration is likely to influence perceived execution risk and capital allocation priorities. This article provides a data-driven evaluation of the announcement, places the change in market and sector context, and outlines measurable indicators investors should monitor going forward.

Context

On Holding's announcement on March 25, 2026 that two co-founders will assume CEO responsibilities reverses a trend toward appointing external professional managers for rapid-growth consumer brands (source: Investing.com, Mar 25, 2026). The company was founded in 2010 by a small group of Swiss entrepreneurs and scaled rapidly through product innovation and a premium pricing strategy; those founding credentials are central to the rationale the board cited for returning founders to day-to-day leadership (source: On Holding investor relations). The board framed the move as a continuity and intensification of the brand's product-first culture rather than an abrupt strategic pivot.

Historically, On's investor base has been sensitive to leadership signals: the company completed its U.S. listing in September 2021 and, since then, investors have evaluated management by a small set of operational KPIs — wholesale versus direct-to-consumer mix, gross margin expansion, and new-product adoption rates (source: On Holding S-1, Sept 2021). Those KPIs are where founder expertise can be most influential but also where investors can penalize execution lapses swiftly. The timing — roughly four and a half years after the IPO — places this change squarely in the mid-cycle governance review window that many public companies face as they transition from founder-driven scale to institutional ownership.

From a governance standpoint, installing co-CEOs is notable because dual leadership remains uncommon among large-cap public firms and can complicate reporting lines and accountability. The board’s communication emphasized role clarity between the co-founders, but markets and analysts will parse public filings and subsequent quarterly guidance for evidence of distinct operating responsibilities (product, design, go-to-market) and defined escalation protocols (source: company press release, Mar 25, 2026). In short, the change is operationally meaningful and will be judged on demonstrable improvements in the measurable metrics investors prize.

Data Deep Dive

Three discrete data points frame the immediate baseline against which any leadership-induced changes will be assessed. First, the announcement date: March 25, 2026, when the company disclosed the co-founder appointments (source: Investing.com, Mar 25, 2026). Second, the appointment involves two co-founders stepping into CEO roles, an explicit numerical change in leadership structure that alters reporting dynamics (source: Investing.com, Mar 25, 2026). Third, On Holding’s corporate timeline — founded in 2010 and listed in September 2021 — provides a chronology of build, scale, and public-market scrutiny (source: company filings, Sept 2021).

Investors will monitor a set of quantifiable operational metrics across upcoming quarterly reports to evaluate the impact of founder-led management. Key metrics include net revenue growth on a comparable basis (store-by-store or SKU-by-SKU comparisons), gross margin percentage shifts driven by product mix and input-cost changes, and marketing spend as a percentage of revenue to proxy brand investment intensity. Any material directional change in these figures — for example, a sequential improvement in gross margin of 200–300 basis points or a reversal of a revenue deceleration trend — will be interpreted as evidence that the leadership transition is affecting execution.

Comparative analysis will also be necessary. Investors will contrast On’s performance versus peers and benchmarks: how does its year-over-year revenue growth compare to category leaders and to the broader consumer discretionary subindex? How does its direct-to-consumer penetration compare to the 2025 peer median? While specific numeric benchmarks will vary, the framework is straightforward: founder-led strategy should either produce differentiated product-led growth or improve unit economics relative to the peer set; failure to show comparative improvement within two to four quarters will raise the probability of further governance changes.

Sector Implications

The footwear and apparel sector has trended toward consolidation in innovation leadership, where product authenticity and founder narratives can materially affect brand desirability. On’s decision to re-install founders into executive roles is an explicit bet that founding vision is a durable competitive advantage in premium athletic footwear. For competitors, founder returns can recalibrate brand positioning battles — a sharper product cadence or a reallocated marketing budget can pressure peers’ gross margin and market share. Institutional investors will therefore observe whether On re-centers R&D spending, accelerates new SKU rollouts, or shifts channel incentives.

From a capital markets perspective, leadership changes at growth-stage consumer companies often coincide with adjustments in valuation multiples as execution risk is repriced. The interplay between narrative and numbers matters: if On achieves measurable top-line acceleration without sacrificing margin, valuation multiple compression that followed previous execution concerns could reverse. Conversely, if the leadership change is seen as a stop-gap, multiples could remain under pressure relative to peers who maintain consistent single-CEO governance.

Finally, the governance signal extends beyond On. Public and private investors allocating to branded consumer equities will use this instance as an additional data point when assessing founder involvement as a factor in investment decisions. Boards and activist investors will observe whether the co-CEO structure yields superior product-market outcomes, and that empirical evidence could influence future succession planning across the sector. For institutional allocators, the practical implication is a tighter linkage between governance changes and near-term operating metrics.

Risk Assessment

A co-CEO arrangement introduces execution risks if roles overlap or decision authority is unclear. Operational friction may emerge in areas where unified leadership typically streamlines cost-allocation, vendor negotiation, and capital deployment decisions. If escalation pathways are not codified, the firm risks slower decision cycles, which is particularly costly in a market where product cycles and inventory management are time-sensitive. Investors should request transparent role definitions and review amended organizational charts and delegation matrices in upcoming filings.

Market perceptions pose an additional risk. Founder returns can be interpreted either as a strategic recommitment or as evidence that previous management failed to deliver. The latter interpretation can trigger short-term defensive positioning by risk managers and result in temporary share-price volatility. Credit providers and wholesale partners may also seek contractual reassurance — such as covenants or KPI-triggered pricing mechanisms — that were not previously required, thereby increasing operational friction.

Finally, there is execution risk tied to capital allocation. Founders often prioritize brand and product investments over near-term margin optimization. If On reallocates capital toward R&D or experiential retail at the expense of margin recovery, investors seeking near-term profitability improvements may express concern. Close monitoring of capex, marketing spend trajectory, and margin guidance will therefore be crucial to assess whether the founder-led approach is advancing or delaying the company’s path to stable, profitable scale.

Fazen Capital Perspective

Fazen Capital views the appointment of co-founders as co-CEOs as a high-conviction, but high-risk, governance decision that will be binary in its market interpretation. On the one hand, founders with deep product expertise can unlock disproportionate upside if they accelerate product-market fit and restore brand differentiation; on the other hand, the public-markets environment rewards predictable execution and single-point accountability. Our contrarian insight is that the quality of the board’s oversight and the existence of a measurable short-term operational plan will matter more than the names occupying the executive suite.

We recommend that institutional investors ask management and the board for three concrete deliverables within the next two quarters: (1) a delineated operating model showing who owns product, sales, and P&L decisions; (2) a 12-month roadmap with measurable KPIs (e.g., gross margin targets, revenue per channel); and (3) an updated capital-allocation policy that balances brand investment with near-term margin stabilization. If those items are provided and accompanied by early positive movement in core metrics, the founder return will likely be rewarded by the market.

A secondary, less-obvious implication is talent retention risk. Reinstating founders to the top often alters incentive dynamics for senior executives hired under the previous regime. Boards should proactively redesign incentive schemes to align new and legacy leaders, and investors should monitor executive turnover as a leading signal of cultural disruption or continuity.

Outlook

Near-term, the market will focus on guidance and early operational indicators in the next one to two quarters. If On can show sequential improvement in gross margin or a rebound in direct-to-consumer comp-store sales within this window, we expect investor sentiment to normalize quickly. Conversely, absent early signs of improved execution, the governance change could be viewed as a stop-gap, leading to sustained multiple compression relative to peers.

Medium-term, the success of the co-founder-led structure should be judged by its ability to sustain above-peer product returns and stabilize unit economics. Investors should track a set of quantifiable metrics: revenue growth on a trailing 12-month basis, gross margin percentage, marketing spend as a percentage of revenue, and inventory turnover days. Improvements across these indicators versus the peer median over 4–8 quarters would suggest the leadership change is value-creative.

Longer-term, the decision will either become a case study in founder re-engagement or a cautionary tale on governance complexity. For the broader industry, outcomes at On could influence board behavior at other growth-stage consumer companies. Institutional investors will incorporate lessons from On’s experiment into their governance diligence frameworks going forward. For additional institutional-grade research on leadership and governance, see our Fazen Capital insights and related research notes.

FAQ

Q: How common are co-CEO structures among public consumer companies, and what has empirical performance shown?

A: Co-CEO structures are unusual among large public companies and have historically been implemented as temporary arrangements or to manage transitional phases. Empirical performance is mixed and context-dependent: success cases typically involve very clear role separation (for example, one executive focused on product and one on operations) and strong board oversight, while failures often trace back to overlapping responsibilities and delayed decision-making. Investors should therefore focus less on the nomenclature and more on the operational controls and KPI traction post-announcement.

Q: What immediate metrics should investors monitor to determine if the leadership change is effective?

A: Short-term signals include sequential changes in gross margin percentage, direct-to-consumer comparable sales growth, and marketing efficiency (customer acquisition cost relative to lifetime value). Additionally, watch inventory turns and supplier payment terms as leading indicators of operational discipline. If these metrics move favorably within two to four quarters, the leadership change is likely having a positive effect.

Q: Are there examples of founder returns that materially benefited public-company performance?

A: Yes. Historical instances exist where founder returns coincided with strategic refocusing and product innovation that drove improved economics; conversely, there are also cases where founder returns were followed by governance frictions and underperformance. The decisive factor is whether the return to founder leadership is accompanied by transparent role definitions, credible KPIs, and a board willing to hold management accountable. Investors should evaluate those structural elements rather than assume an outcome based solely on personnel changes.

Bottom Line

On Holding’s appointment of its co-founders as co-CEOs on March 25, 2026 is a materially governance-driven decision that will be judged on quantifiable operational improvements over the next two to four quarters. Institutional investors should demand clear role delineation, measurable KPIs, and timely disclosure to assess whether the founder-led structure creates sustainable value.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.