Adidas Appoints Chief Marketing Officer for Adidas Brand

Adidas has appointed Hermann Deininger as chief marketing officer (CMO) for the Adidas brand, effective June 1. In this role, Deininger will be responsible for all three adidas sub-brands, adidas Sport Performance, adidas Originals and adidas Sport Style, ensuring the consistency and integrity of the adidas brand. Hermann Deininger will continue to report directly into Erich Stamminger, executive board member, responsible for global brands.

“This new structure strengthens the integrity of our three sub-brands while making sure that all adidas programmes and products across all sub-brands remain in line with our overall brand direction,” said Stamminger. “It is also a major step to deliver against the targets of our strategic business plan Route 2015 by enabling us to better focus on the consumer, align our organization worldwide and thus increase our speed to market.”

Deininger has been with the Adidas Group since 1985. Since 2000, he has been a key member of the global marketing team for the adidas brand. In the last four years, Deininger served as chief marketing officer for adidas Sport Style and drove the Style business to record sales of EUR 2.2 billion in 2010. In his new role, Deininger will assume leadership across all adidas sub-brands adidas Sport Performance, adidas Originals and adidas Sport Style and their respective labels such as adidas by Stella McCartney, adidas NEO, adidas SLVR, Porsche Design and Y-3.

Bernd Wahler, most recently chief marketing officer Adidas Sport Performance, will assume leadership of the new and extended function as head of innovation for the adidas brand effective July 1, 2011 and will report directly into Deininger.

“Earlier this year, we have started to show the breadth and depth of the adidas brand in one global brand campaign to our consumers world-wide with adidas is all in. The next logical step in the development of our brand is to further strengthen the consistency of the adidas brand in our internal organization,” added Stamminger. “Under Hermann Deininger’s leadership, our Sport Style business has reached record heights over the last years and I am convinced he will further strengthen the position of the Adidas brand globally going forward. At the same time, in his new role, Bernd Wahler will ensure that Adidas remains the innovation leader in our industry.”