When Adidas AG announced that Kasper Rorsted would be taking over as its Chief Executive Officer in October, its shares jumped a whopping $1billion. On the other side of the equation, his current employers – Henkel AG – lost $2 billion. Henkel AG is a consumer products manufacturer, dealing internationally and with constant competition with large US rivals.
Rorsted will face similar issues at Adidas, as the company has lost market share to Nike and relative newbie Under Armour. Current Adidas CEO Herbert Hainer is the longest serving CEO on Germany’s blue-chip DAX index and will be leaving the company six months earlier than planned.
