Bruno Maier has spent 35 years in the bike industry, and by the time we sat down together, he'd lived through more chapters than most executives see in a career twice as long.

He's president and CEO of United Wheels, the company behind Huffy, All Light, and Batch, but that title barely covers how he got there. He started at Huffy, moved through Pacific Cycle, Cycling Sports Group, People for Bikes, and Rocky Mounts, then found his way back to Huffy more than once, each return different from the last.

We started with the people who shaped him early on, especially Chris Horning, the founder of Pacific Cycle, who taught him cost control and team building.

"The one thing that I think Chris gave me more than anything else was how to appreciate the people that help you get there."

He also talked about Tim Blumenthal at People for Bikes and Bill Smith, who brought him back to Huffy.

The real turning point wasn't a boardroom moment. It was becoming a father.

"When I was younger, I had all the energy in the world, I had all the work ethic. I had no empathy. It was charging to finish the job, without the perspective of the people I was working with, and in some cases, the people that I was running over to complete the task or the job at hand."

From there we walked through the chapters that followed: Boulder and People for Bikes, a stint at Rocky Mounts, the return to Huffy, and then All Light, the material sciences startup that partnered with the world's largest consumer electronics company. He later left to start a cargo bike business in New York, and just months later, the board called him back to take over as CEO.

That transition wasn't smooth. During his first week back, he called his wife with a different message than he'd hoped to deliver.

"I think I've made a huge mistake."

The industry was facing a global inventory crisis, but they turned 2024 into the best non-pandemic year the company has had.

We also got into what happens when leadership goes wrong, and Bruno described watching a strong culture change under new management.

"I watched what I thought was maybe the greatest culture I had ever worked in become a very toxic, very Fortune 100 type environment."

That experience shapes how seriously he takes the responsibility he carries now, with 2,500 employees depending on his decisions.

"That's probably the thing that keeps me up late at night, are we taking care of the employees well enough?"

One of my favorite parts of this conversation was Bruno's honesty about who he is behind the title. He's not the extroverted, always-confident executive people expect. He's an introvert who still questions whether he's the right person for the job.

We closed on persistence, and Bruno brought the conversation back to Leadville, the mountain bike race that humbled him more than he expected.

"I assumed, based on my speeds, my abilities, nine, nine and a half hours, I should be finished. Eleven and a half hours later, I crossed the finish line and it was heartbreaking."

That same mindset, he says, is what gets a business through its hardest years too.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

00:44 Meet Bruno Maier

02:03 Mentors that Shaped Him

07:35 Fatherhood and Empathy

12:41 Career Turning Points

17:39 All Light and New Ventures

21:23 Returning as CEO

23:17 Tariffs and Supply Chain Shift

25:36 Focus and Simplify for 2026

27:00 When Culture Turns Toxic

30:00 The Call to Come Back

31:34 CEO Call Comes Through

32:44 Global Business Lessons

34:19 China and Europe Travel

36:16 Choosing Roles by Fun

38:52 CEO Weight and Vision

42:31 Empowerment and Data

43:33 Team Leadership Mindset

45:54 Imposter Syndrome Revealed

48:17 Leading with Care

50:46 Persistence from Endurance

54:27 Advice for Early Careers

56:06 Gratitude and Family Roots

58:18 Lessons for His Sons

59:21 Closing