Adidas has confirmed Bjørn Gulden, the current CEO of Puma, will take up the role of CEO on 1 January 2023 following speculation at the end of last week. Rorsted and the supervisory board have mutually agreed that he will step down as CEO and leave the company on 11 November. Harm Ohlmeyer, chief financial officer of Adidas will lead the company in the interim until 31 December.

The supervisory board had announced a CEO transition in August and the start of a search for Rorsted's successor. He has held the post at Adidas since 2016. Chairman of the board, Thomas Rabe, explained that after three challenging years that were marked by the economic consequences of the pandemic and geo-political tensions, now was now the right time to initiate a CEO transition and pave the way for a restart.

Gulden is 57 years old, Norwegian and has been CEO of Puma since 2013. During his tenure at Adidas he was senior vice president of apparel and accessories from 1992 to 1999. He has also held the posts of CEO of Danish jewellery brand Pandora, and managing director of Europe's largest footwear retailer Deichmann.