Nicolas Mermoud

Nicolas "Nico" Mermoud is the co-founder of HOKA ONE ONE, the French running shoe brand that overturned decades of minimalist orthodoxy with oversized midsoles and became a $2 billion global force.

Born and raised near Chamonix in the French Alps, Mermoud grew up with the mountains as his playground. He spent years inside the innovation engine at Salomon, where product development was obsession and he absorbed the mechanics of athletic footwear from the inside. Before HOKA, he served as VP International Marketing at Groupe Rossignol, where he built experience in the alpine sports business.

The spark for HOKA came in 2007, during an ultra-marathon that went badly wrong right at the finish line. Mermoud and his co-founder Jean-Luc Diard decided to build a shoe that simply would not let that happen again—a maximalist design with an oversized midsole that absorbed punishment instead of inflicting it. They launched HOKA ONE ONE in 2009. The running world hated it at first. The oversized silhouette earned the brand the nickname "clown shoes." Runners mocked the look. Competitors dismissed it as a gimmick.

Mermoud kept selling. He proved the product through ultramarathons and trail races, building credibility one race finish at a time. The UTMB (Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc), spanning three countries and nine mountain passes, became a natural proving ground for the brand. The shoe's ability to handle alpine conditions turned skepticism into devotion. By the time Deckers Outdoor Corporation acquired HOKA in 2013, the brand had moved well beyond its cult roots. Under Mermoud's creative direction, HOKA pushed into road running, trail running, hiking, and everyday wear while keeping its oversized-sole DNA intact. The company crossed $1 billion in revenue by 2017 and surpassed $2 billion in annual sales by the mid-2020s, becoming one of the fastest-growing brands in the athletic footwear industry. In 2025, Mermoud appeared at Shoptalk Europe, where he was interviewed as Co-Founder and Creator about the brand's unconventional rise. He remains based in Annecy-le-Vieux, France, and continues to be a voice in the running community.