Adidas Initiates Leadership Transition, CEO to Step Down Next Year
Adidas AG’s supervisory board has initiated a CEO transition, the sports retailer announced Monday. Kasper Rorsted will hand over the CEO position next year, and the search for a successor has started. Rorsted, who has been CEO since 2016, and its supervisory board “mutually agreed” on the decision. He will remain CEO until a successor has been appointed and ensure a smooth transition, according to a company press release.
Total Retail's Take: Adidas is shaking up its leadership and "enabling a restart." According to a company press release, the retailer aims to "focus its efforts on its core brand adidas" following its sale of Reebok, TaylorMade, and CCM Hockey brands. Compounding these moves were three challenging years marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, which impacted nearly half of Rorsted's tenure as chief executive.
"The past years have been marked by several external factors that disrupted our business significantly. It required huge efforts to master these challenges. This is why enabling a restart in 2023 is the right thing to do — both for the company and me personally," Rorsted commented.
In a statement, Adidas board chair Thomas Rabe thanked Rorsted for his "major achievements" and noted his instrumental leadership in strategically repositioning the company and accelerating its digital transformation. Now that the business is heading in the right direction, said Rabe, it's "the right time to initiate a CEO transition." However, the new chief executive will still be entering a comeback situation to right-size the sports retailer.
- People:
- Kasper Rorsted
- Thomas Rabe
Kristina Stidham is the digital content director at Total Retail and sister brands Women in Retail Leadership Circle and Women Leading Travel & Hospitality at NAPCO Media. She is passionate about digital media and handles video, podcast and virtual event production for all brands. You can often find her at WIRLC, TR, WLT&H or industry events with her camera and podcasting equipment—or at home on Zoom—recording interviews with thought leaders and business executives.
Kristina holds a B.A. in Media Studies and Production from the Temple University Klein College of Media and Communication in Philadelphia. Go Owls! When she's not in the office, she loves to go on long walks, sing around the house, hangout with her family and two pet guinea pigs, and travel to new places.
