Kasper B. Rorsted

Kaspar B. Rørsted took the helm as CEO of Adidas in 2016 and served in that role until November 2022. His tenure at this global sportswear giant was marked by notable business transformations and growth.

Beyond Adidas, Rørsted has an extensive background in corporate governance, serving on the boards of several major corporations, including Siemens AG and Nestlé. His involvement with these multinational corporations underscores his expertise in global business strategies and operations. Furthermore, his participation in the European Round Table of Industrialists (ERT) adds to his profile as a seasoned leader in the industrial sector.

However, in 2022, a mutual agreement was made between Rørsted and Adidas's supervisory board for him to hand over his position during 2023. The board acknowledged his contributions with 16 million USD compensation for his early departure, evidencing the significant role he played at the company.

He started his career in sales and marketing at the US high-tech companies Digital Equipment and Oracle, the first having been acquired by Compaq in 1998. From 1995, Rørsted held different international management positions at Compaq and from 2001 was responsible as general manager for the company's Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) business.

In 2002, Compaq was merged with Hewlett Packard. Before Rørsted left the company in 2004, he was Senior Vice President and General Manager at Hewlett Packard, where he last headed the EMEA business with more than 40,000 employees and sales of about 20 billion euros.

In April 2005, Rørsted joined Henkel as Executive Vice President Human Resources, Purchasing, Information Technologies and Infrastructure Services. From April 2007 on, Rørsted was Vice Chairman of the Henkel Management Board.

He is a Danish citizen and graduated from the International Business School in Copenhagen and completed his studies with several executive courses at Harvard Business School, USA. Rørsted serves on the board of Cable & Wireless plc,, Bertelsmann SE & Co., KGA and Danfoss A/S in Denmark.