# Assos Under New Management — End of a Family Era

> After almost 40 years of family ownership, the Maier-Moussa family sells its majority stake in Assos. Former Black Diamond director Philip Duff becomes CEO. Son Roche stays on as creative director — the Swiss DNA is to remain.

- Published: 2015-09-11

September 2015 marks the end of an era: the Maier-Moussa family, who founded Assos in 1976 and ran it for almost four decades, [sells the majority of the company](https://www.bicycleretailer.com/international/2015/09/11/investors-acquire-majority-stake-assos). The buyers: a consortium of investors led by Philip N. Duff, the New York private equity firm TZP Group and Greg Avis, co-founder of Summit Partners and board member of the USA Cycling Foundation.

## Who is Philip Duff?

[Duff](https://sgbonline.com/philip-n-duff-acquires-control-of-assos-named-ceo/) has an unusual resume: CFO at Morgan Stanley, president of Tiger Equipment, founder of FrontPoint Partners, lead director at Black Diamond Equipment. Not a cycling man on paper — but someone who knows how to scale premium brands without destroying their identity. Black Diamond is a good example: a brand that has grown with his involvement without losing its core customer base.

## What remains

Roche Maier-Moussa, son of the founders, remains in the company as a significant shareholder and creative director. His role as «Créateur» — responsible for brand, product development and innovation — will not change. This is crucial: the technical DNA of Assos does not lie in an organization chart, but in the minds that have been testing fabrics in the wind tunnel for decades.

## Assessment

Family businesses that sell to investors often lose their character. With Assos, there are reasons to be optimistic. TZP and Duff bring capital and sales expertise that Assos needs to grow internationally. The Maier-Moussas retain product sovereignty. The question is not whether anything will change — but whether the [right things will stay the same](https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/family-owned-since-1970s-assos-changing-hands).

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Source: https://kilometro.ch/en/articles/assos-under-new-management-end-of-a-family-era