KOBLENZ, Germany (BRAIN) — Canyon founder Roman Arnold is returning to an operational role at the company on Sept. 1 as Nicolas De Ros Wallace, who has been CEO, steps down. The company said de Ros Wallace is leaving "by mutual agreement," while Arnold moves from chairman of Canyon's advisory board to become executive chairman.
"In this role Roman will focus on the long-term vision and future strategy of the company. He will act as a bridge between Canyon’s history of innovation and performance and its future growth, ensuring the company remains deeply connected to its founding values while driving strategic initiatives forward together with Canyon’s executive management team," the company said in a press release Thursday.
While Arnold will not hold the CEO title, a Canyon representative told BRAIN that he will "take over the functions and responsibilities of Nicolas de Ros Wallace in his role as executive chairman." The representative did not say if Canyon will eventually hire a new CEO.
Arnold, who launched the Canyon brand in 1996, sold a majority stake in the company to GBL in 2020, retaining about a 40% share in the company. Prior to the sale he stepped out of the CEO role into the newly created position as chairman of the advisory board.
De Ros Wallace, a former Nike vice president, joined in 2022. In the release, Canyon noted that its annual sales doubled to almost 800 million euros during the three and a half years that he was CEO.
GBL recently reported that Canyon's first half 2025 sales were down 5% while its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) were down 30%. The company lost 5.0 million euros in the first half, compared to a 0.4 million euro loss last year. At the end of 2024, GBL devalued its share of Canyon by hundreds of millions of euros due to reduced profitability.
Arnold said, “Nicolas brought valuable expertise and fresh perspectives to Canyon during an important phase of our journey. His leadership over the past years has built a strong foundation, and I’m grateful for his dedication and achievements. We thank him sincerely for his contributions and wish him every success in his future endeavours.”
De Ros Wallace said, "It has been an honour to serve as CEO of Canyon over the past years, a brand admired worldwide for its passion and performance. I am proud of what we achieved together as a team, and I look forward to seeing Canyon continue to thrive in the years ahead.”
