{"id":3510,"date":"2021-05-28T13:57:33","date_gmt":"2021-05-28T13:57:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.iese.edu\/standout\/?p=3510"},"modified":"2026-04-09T06:36:33","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T06:36:33","slug":"marc-coma-ceo-ktm-rally-dakar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.iese.edu\/standout\/marc-coma-ceo-ktm-rally-dakar\/","title":{"rendered":"Marc Coma. When the Dakar champion becomes CEO of KTM. Success stories"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column]

Marc Coma, CEO of KTM AG in Spain, won the Dakar Rally five times on\u00a0<\/span><\/span>his\u00a0<\/span><\/span>motorcycle before making the leap to\u00a0<\/span><\/span>business<\/span><\/span>\u00a0management.<\/span><\/span><\/blockquote><\/span><\/div>[vc_column_text css=”” css_animation=”bottom-to-top”]Hardly anyone expected it.\u00a0<\/span>So<\/span>\u00a0when he said that he was\u00a0<\/span>retiring from top-level\u00a0<\/span>competition,\u00a0<\/span>it<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>was like<\/span>\u00a0a bomb.\u00a0<\/span>He had achieved international legend<\/span><\/b>\u00a0status<\/span><\/b>\u00a0as a rider, he was at the peak of his career and his fans and sponsors didn\u2019t even want to imagine a future without him.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It was 2015 and, in the two years\u00a0<\/span>prior to<\/span>\u00a0his surprising announcement, Marc Coma had won the Dakar and Qatar rallies twice in a row and had also been crowned<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>rally\u00a0<\/span>champio<\/span>n<\/span>\u00a0in the Morocco<\/span>\u00a0Rally<\/span>\u00a0and in the world championship of Rally Cross-Country. He was a fierce, cunning and\u00a0<\/span>unstoppable rider.\u00a0<\/span>How was someone like this going to retire in their prime?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That question, which many we<\/span>re\u00a0<\/span>asking at the time, was\u00a0<\/span>a trick question<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>Coma wasn\u2019t thinking of retirement.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span>Quite to the contrary.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0What he needed was a change in his life and profession,<\/span>\u00a0to<\/span>\u00a0take on new challenges and compete in a different\u00a0<\/span>kind of\u00a0<\/span>way.\u00a0<\/span>A legendary rider was aspiring to become an extraordinary manager.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cThe most difficult thing is managing the moment\u00a0<\/span>where you stop competing<\/span>. It is the most complicated step an athlete has to take<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>Managing this<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>stage in your sporting career well<\/span>\u00a0is a victory<\/span>\u00a0in itself<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0\u201d<\/span>\u00a0the\u00a0<\/span>rider<\/span>\u00a0admitted months later to\u00a0<\/span>Spanish\u00a0<\/span>news\u00a0<\/span>agency<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Agencia<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>EFE.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But<\/span>, in 2015,<\/span>\u00a0after a career full of successes,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Coma was almost forty years old … If he wanted to become a manager, he had to\u00a0<\/span>get moving<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text]

<\/div>