After years of being encouraged to resign, Adidas' current CEO Herbert Hainer is finally set to step down at the end of September. Replacing the veteran CEO is the man responsible for leading Henkel AG's rapid growth in recent years, 53-year-old Kasper Rorsted, who might just be the right person to make Adidas competitive in key markets such as the United States again, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Adidas announced the change in leadership on Monday, further stating that Rorsted would begin serving as a board member in August before taking control of the company in October.
Hainer, for his part, will be leaving the company he has led for more than a decade at the end of September, six months before the 61-year old executive's contract was set to expire, reports Yahoo! Finance.
Hainer had been subject of much criticism as Adidas saw its place in the U.S. market drop considerably, losing a significant portion of its market share to rival Nike and upstart sportswear firm Under Armor.
The announcement of the impending leadership change has been met warmly by investors, as Adidas stock surged more than 6 percent in overseas trading, according to FOX Business.
Igor Landau, chairman of Adidas' supervisory board, said the sporting goods company is confident that Rorsted was the best choice for the company's new CEO.
"Kasper Rorsted is the perfect candidate to succeed Herbert Hainer as CEO of Adidas AG. For eight years, Kasper Rorsted has very successfully headed up Henkel, a DAX company that just like the Adidas Group is known for its growth, internationality and sustainability," he said.
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