Stephan Born (MBA'93): Leading Hugo Boss Americas with a journey shaped by Telfer

In 1992, a European business graduate came to Ottawa for his MBA.

Today, Stephan Born is the CEO and President of Hugo Boss in the Americas.

Since taking over the role in 2019, he has doubled the company’s regional sales, netting over $1 billion in 2024. How did Stephan go from being an MBA student to a global executive?

A globetrotter in the making

Born in Freiburg, Germany, Stephan's wanderlust emerged early. His first international move took him to Spain when he was just 11 years old. He fell in love with the country, not knowing he would be returning years later for his career.

After high school, Stephan joined the European Studies of Business (ESB). He completed a joint four-year program between Reutlingen University in Germany and ICADE Business School at the Universidad Pontificia Comillas in Spain. Stephan completed three working internships in Mexico and Germany as part of this degree.

Since he knew there was still so much more of the world to discover, in 1992, Stephan applied for a scholarship at the University of Ottawa to complete his Master of Business Administration (MBA). Because this was an international partnership with ESB Reutlingen and ICADE at the time, Stephan got his MBA in just one year. He specialized in Industrial and Consumer Marketing and Business Strategy.

“As a German, Canada was exciting,” reflects Stephan, “and uOttawa was interesting for us international students because of how very diverse it is, coming from a more uniform European student environment.”

Warm uOttawa memories

Stephan fondly remembers Professor David Large, who taught Consumer Marketing. Stephan also immensely enjoyed the case competitions against other universities.

“I found the program to be a strong mix between academic theory and pragmatic case studies,” he says, “including competitions, marketing simulation games, and real-life, hands-on work when we advised a local travel agency in downtown Ottawa.”

Back to Europe in his early career days

Now equipped with a Canadian and European university education, Stephan got his first post-graduate job at Wella, a German global cosmetics, haircare, and fragrance company. Starting in 1993 as a marketing trainee in a young management talent program, he soon became a product manager for the Spanish division. 

After just four years, Stephan was appointed Commercial Director in Portugal.

Two years later, in 1999, he became the youngest Managing Director in Wella’s history for the Portuguese division. Then, Procter & Gamble (P&G) acquired Wella. 

A new era of leadership

In 2003, Stephan was promoted to Senior Vice President of the Asia Pacific Region for the company’s professional haircare division. He led all regional markets, preparing them for standalone operations after each country’s retail division was integrated into P&G. 

Stephan then managed Wella's luxury haircare division in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa before changing roles again. He used his skills to lead the integration of Wella’s professional haircare with P&G in Spain and Portugal. 

How he earned his start with Hugo Boss

Stephan joined the luxury fashion designer 15 years ago, in 2009, as the Managing Director responsible for Spain and Portugal.

“After 16 years in the cosmetic industry,” he says, “I loved the challenge of starting a turnaround job in these Southern European locales for Hugo Boss in the fashion market.” Knowing these two countries inside out from living and working there, it’s no surprise that Stephan executed a successful turnaround strategy and growth transformation.

He grew the Hugo Boss brand from wholesale to retail and achieved high profits for both markets in a few short years.

Following a pattern of promotions and migrations, Stephan was eventually asked to lead one of Hugo Boss's largest regions from London, England, as the Managing Director of Northern Europe, the Middle East, and India.

Leading operations in the Americas as CEO and President

After achieving the success Stephan was now known for, he took on his biggest responsibility, becoming the CEO and President of Hugo Boss in the Americas in 2019.

“This is the biggest region for the brand at the moment,” shares Stephan. “Before COVID, it was declining because we were too focused on formalwear. The pandemic accelerated the trend toward more casual wear, and we had to adapt quickly.”

Boosting a diminishing business is hard enough as it is, not to mention navigating the uncertainties and ever-changing public health measures of the pandemic.

“We moved marketing investments and went digital. We took suiting and formal imagery out of store windows and executed a radical shift, switching buying and merchandise towards lifestyle approach and logo-driven athleisure,” explains Stephan.

“Never waste a crisis.”

Stephan didn’t see his family for six months, separated by the Atlantic Ocean and strict lockdown rules. They finally reunited in 2021 in New York, where they live today. 

Yet, he says, it was all worth it. While other brands were closing, Stephan saw this downturn as an opportunity, and Hugo Boss opened more stores in new regional markets, leveraging flexible short contracts with landlords. “Never waste a crisis,” he says.

In 2021, the Americas became the first region for the company to show growth compared to pre-COVID levels in 2019. “We have come a long way and repositioned in the right direction,” says Stephan. “Today, the US is the biggest single market for the company worldwide. We have a broader distribution, the average age of our consumers has dropped significantly without alienating our core consumers, and we are more in touch with our customers as a brand.”

Since 2019, Stephan has almost doubled the business in the Americas, breaking the 1 billion Euro mark in 2024. 

Adapting Hugo Boss to the American consumer

Hugo Boss was known internationally for its sports attire partnerships and international campaign faces, which mostly resonated in European markets. However, Stephan knew that alone wouldn’t work in the United States. Therefore, he and his staff leveraged local connections and ties with professional sports teams and role models, signing licensing deals with the NBA in 2021 and the NFL in 2023. 

“By approaching younger diverse customers and making the brand relevant to the country, Hugo Boss garnered 6 billion social media impressions from the NFL deal alone,” says Stephan.

Combining storytelling and sportswear, the company provided gear for 22 teams, even dressing well-known quarterback Patrick Mahomes. This localized strategy ties into the company’s global approach, with International Marketing in Germany rolling out placements of American favourites, including US tennis star Taylor Fritz, model Naomi Campbell, soccer legend David Beckham, and various drivers on the Formula 1 circuit. In addition, specific US product development for different channels and trade partnerships was necessary.

Adaptation wasn’t just professional; it was personal, too.

“As a European coming to the US, we have a more direct business approach, and I had to adapt to a different management style in the States,” shares Stephan. 

“You accept criticism, learn, adapt, which strengthens you. I bonded with my team even more because they understood where I came from. We’ve built a robust commercial team, and today, our standing as a company is much better than five years ago.”

“My MBA at Telfer helped me develop resiliency.”

Ambitious and competitive by nature, Stephan is not afraid of pressure or challenges. He acknowledges that there is always room for growth. He intentionally developed a willingness to do more and demonstrate his leadership skills. 

“You can healthily build this competitive drive,” he says. “Completing my MBA, working in a time-pressure competitive environment was a great skill driver—it helped me develop resiliency.”

The resiliency that he attributes to his Telfer education helps the CEO stay grounded despite the high pressure to deliver results. But pressure isn’t inherently bad either, he says.

“If the work is fun, you are surrounded by people who think the same way, and you see challenges as opportunities to grow, then pressure isn’t negative,” says Stephan. 

From success to success, he explains that being motivated to explore new business opportunities is self-fulfilling. It’s about the mindset and perspective through which you approach challenges.

“On a personal front, I spend time with my wife and sons. I travel a lot and am involved in many sports—tennis, soccer, running, skiing, and scuba diving—to clear my mind.”

Advice to current Telfer students

As an alumnus, Stephan has some encouraging words for Telfer students and graduates just starting in the workforce. “Be bold, follow your dreams and instincts and don’t let fear of failure be an obstacle as you embark on your professional journey. 

“Be authentic on that journey, but be aware that you need patience and a long breath, as only persistence, consistency, and the willingness to do more will lead to long-term success. Above all, enjoy the journey itself. Chasing your dreams is a journey over time, not a short-term project.”