Sitting of their Zurich headquarters, On’s sanguine co-CEO, Martin Hoffmann, and his colleague and On co-founder Caspar Coppetti, have purpose to be relaxed. One other quarter of sudden progress has notched one other $3 billion to their model’s worth.

There may be an elephant within the room, nonetheless. It’s not taking over a lot room although, given the elephant is a newly-empty seat on the CEO desk.

Hoffmann will quickly tackle the position of On’s CEO alone when his co-CEO Mark Maurer leaves the corporate in June. Maurer stated he deliberate to embark on a “new chapter” in his skilled life after greater than 14 years on the firm. 

Maurer and Hoffmann each joined On from Swiss meals retailer Valora in 2012 and 2013, respectively, as COO and CFO, with Maurer wooing his buddy over to what was then a little-known working startup. The pair has operated as co-CEOs since 2021.

From July, although, Hoffmann, a monetary whizz by commerce and by nature, will take the reins of On alone, with out Maurer to lean on.  

“I had a extremely sturdy relationship with Mark and a deep, deep friendship,” Hoffmann instructed Fortune following the discharge of On’s first-quarter earnings. 

“I’ll miss that, however now we have been tremendous shut, principally in all components of the enterprise, along with totally different focuses. However there are not any blind spots, and we’re not altering technique.”

Hoffmann, whose precedence will shift from his present twin position as CFO, admits he loves numbers as a lot as he does folks. For an organization higher recognized for design, innovation, and funky collaborations with Gen Z idols, finance might want to take a backseat.

“The energy of On isn’t the numbers, it is the group,” stated Hoffmann.

“My aim was to allow this group to be at their finest. And I do not assume this modifications. The main focus from the place I do it should change, however the perspective stays the identical.”

Hoffmann may hardly take sole cost of On in a greater place.

On Tuesday, the group reported a 43% surge in income within the first quarter of 2025 in contrast with a yr earlier, whereas it elevated its income and profitability steerage for the remainder of the yr.

The final quarter marked the second in a row that On beat its income expectations. 

New model partnerships, together with a February Tremendous Bowl commercial that includes tennis nice and On investor, Roger Federer, and Elmo, have helped the corporate defy short-run expectations inside a wider aim of doubling gross sales between 2023 and 2026.

On wrapped up its earnings week by hitting a report valuation of $19.65 billion as buyers piled into the working model within the wake of the shock outcomes, having began the week valued at round $16 billion. On is now the third most beneficial publicly traded footwear model on this planet behind Nike and Adidas.

The group’s surge has come as these legacy sportswear firms have regressed. Shares in Nike have plunged greater than 15% because the begin of the yr, whereas Adidas shares have fallen greater than 8%. On, in the meantime, has risen in worth by 8% this yr. With a present working shoe market share of round 10%, the corporate’s management is laser-focused on driving this even greater. 

“Our long-term imaginative and prescient is to be the primary model in working,” Coppetti instructed Fortune. 

On’s advertising

Attending to the mantle of the primary working model definitely seems much more practical now than when its co-founders first began experimenting with strapping hose pipes to the underside of conventional trainers. It’s, nonetheless, a special path from the one which introduced On so far. 

On advanced as a challenger model largely by word-of-mouth advertising and an opportunistic increase in working amongst youthful folks, whose greater disposable revenue, social media consciousness, and newfound concentrate on health have proved a goldmine for the athletic model. 

“I believe we’re benefiting from this well being and wellness pattern the place youthful adults… they are going to the gymnasium relatively than going to the bar,” stated Coppetti. The group’s profitable partnership with Zendaya hasn’t damage its enchantment with younger clients both. 

“We’re fairly obsessed,” Coppetti says about persevering with to boost On’s model recognition.

The corporate has been forensic in transitioning from a web-based mannequin to erecting bodily shops, contemplating precisely the place to position every of its 53 shops, proper all the way down to the road nook, to take care of its exclusivity whereas rising. 

“We do not wish to overshoot, and that permits us to, for instance, be very selective with retail companions we wish to work with, or which shops we wish to be in, which avenue, which nook of that avenue we wish to have our retailer on and all of it feeds into this premium positioning,” says Coppetti.

On’s two London shops exemplify that technique, with one positioned on the unique Regent’s Road, and the opposite within the fashionable east-side purchasing zone of Spitalfields. Coppetti notes some 200 folks participate in a run membership from that retailer often. You may be fairly assured that an On rep will make an undercover look at different run golf equipment, too.

“We truly exit and we go to the key working routes within the massive cities, and we go and rely folks, and we see what merchandise they’re carrying, each footwear and attire,” Coppetti stated.

The corporate does the identical at working occasions. On will get extra reduce by amongst quick distance runners, as much as half marathon distances. It’s hoping to seize extra marathon runners when it launches its “tremendous sneakers” later this yr. 

There shall be different challenges alongside the way in which. Nonetheless a nascent model, On hasn’t but proved it could actually journey out demand dips and transfer past fears that it’s a “fad” shoe. And regardless of having operations within the U.S., the Swiss model isn’t any much less uncovered to tariffs than its opponents. Nonetheless, On is planning value will increase this yr, unrelated to tariffs, and CEO Hoffmann clients are prepared to remain on the journey, nonetheless bumpy issues get.

“We wish to be essentially the most premium world sports activities model, and premium is the decisive phrase right here,” Hoffmann says. “And if you’re clear in regards to the North Star, we even have clear route in sorts of uncertainties like this.”

This story was initially featured on Fortune.com

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