Adidas Seeks CEO, Questions Kanye West Deal

As Adidas looks for a new chief executive, experts and analysts are advising the German footwear company to get creative.

“The company needs to get back to the creative edge,” said Cowen analyst John Kernan Friday (Oct. 7) in a Bloomberg News report on the search for a chief executive officer.

Adidas announced in August that its supervisory board and CEO Kasper Rorsted had agreed that Rorsted would step down next year but would remain with the company until a replacement was appointed.

Learn more: Seeking a ‘Restart’ Adidas Looks for New CEO

“After three challenging years that were marked by the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and geo-political tensions, it is now the right time to initiate a CEO transition and pave the way for a restart,” Adidas AG Supervisory Board Chairman Thomas Rabe said in a statement.

“The issue at Adidas is product development, brand recognition,” Ingo Speich of Deka Investment in Frankfurt, a major shareholder, told Bloomberg. The CEO needs to be more in tune with Adidas’ creative team, “and Rorsted is not the manager to do that.”

The report pointed to two names that have been floated as possible replacements. One is Puma CEO Bjorn Gulden, although Bloomberg discounted that idea, given the rivalry between the two brands, both headquartered in the same town.

The other is Eric Liedtke, a former Adidas executive who had been once considered a possible successor to former CEO Herbert Hainer. He also helped oversee the company’s collaborations with musicians like Beyonce, Pharell Williams and Kanye West.

See also: Kanye West Ends Yeezy Partnership With Gap

The West partnership – which created the Yeezy sneaker collection – appeared to be in trouble this week, with Adidas saying Thursday it was placing it under review.

According to published reports, Adidas said the decision followed several attempts to resolve disputes with West. The company says it will continue to manage Yeezy products in its inventory and called the partnership “one of the most successful…in our industry’s history.”

Last month, West ended his partnership with Gap, accusing the clothing maker of failing to live up to the terms of their contract. Gap has said that while it shared a vision with West, the company and the rapper/designer did not agree on how to bring that vision forward.

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