Rudolf "Rudi" Dassler (29 April 1898 – 27 October 1974) was a German cobbler, inventor and businessman who founded the sportswear company Puma.
He was the older brother of Adidas founder Adolf "Adi" Dassler. The brothers were partners in a shoe company Adolf started, Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik ("Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory"). Rudolf joined in 1924. However, after a feud developed between them following World War II, the brothers went separate ways and started their respective companies in 1948.[1]
Initially calling the new company "Ruda" (a portmanteau for Rudolf Dassler), it was soon changed to its present name of Puma.[2] Puma is the Quechua word for cougar; from there, it went into German as well as other languages.[3][4]