Henkel said earlier that Rorsted would leave at the end of April at his own request.
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Adidas announced this week that current Henkel (maker of laundry powders and Dial Soap) Chief Executive Karsten Rorsted will take over as CEO in October, replacing Herbert Hainer, who has faced widespread investor discontent.
Originally, Hainer’s contract had also been scheduled to expire at the end of March 2017.
Adidas names Kasper Rorsted, the head of Dial soap’s parent firm, to succeed Herbert Hainer as CEO.
Chairman Igor Landau said Rorsted, whose restructuring of Henkel has helped its shares more than triple since he took over in 2008, was “the ideal candidate”.
After the announcement of his departure, Henkel’s stock fell by 5 percent, while Adidas’s stock increased by 4 percent.
Adidas said Rorsted would join the executive board on August 1 and have a two-month transition period with Hainer during a busy period for the sporting goods industry, just after the European football championships and just before the Olympics in Rio.
The new CEO faces a tough task to revive growth at Adidas, No. 54 in the Internet Retailer 2015 Europe 500, which has been losing ground to industry leader Nike Inc., No. 61 in the Internet Retailer 2015 Top 500 Guide and No. 107 in the Europe 500, as well as newer competitors like Under Armour Inc., No. 121 in the Top 500 and No. 265 in the Europe 500. “Since Hans Van Bylen has been around for a long time, he seems to be a pretty good choice”.
Adidas has named Kasper Rorsted chief executive officer following an extraordinary meeting of its supervisory board in Herzogenaurach, Germany, on Monday.
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Mr Spiech, a fund manager at Union Investment, said he hoped the new boss would “end the long dry spell in the profitability of Adidas”. He will be replaced as Henkel CEO by Hans Van Bylen, a board member charged with running the company’s beauty care business, on May 1.
