adidas has appointed Henkel CEO KASPER RORSTED to the same position after the 53-year-old Dane "succeeded in cutting costs and boosting profits during an eight-year reign at the consumer goods group," according to Emma Thomasson of REUTERS. Rorsted, who will leave Henkel in April, will "take charge of Adidas on Oct. 1, replacing HERBERT HAINER," who has headed the sportswear maker since '01 as the "longest-serving boss of a leading German company." Investors had hoped adidas "would appoint an external candidate, believing an outsider might be more likely to take tough decisions to boost profitability and potentially sell more non-core businesses, such as fitness brand Reebok." Since Rorsted took over at Henkel in '08, shares in the maker of Schwarzkopf hair care products and Loctite glue have "more than tripled, while its annual sales have grown by more than a third" to around US$19.6B estimated for '15 (REUTERS, 1/18). adidas BOD Chair IGOR LANDAU indicated that Rorsted was "'the perfect candidate' due to extensive international experience at Oracle, Compaq and Hewlett Packard, in addition to eight years heading Henkel." Hainer is leaving adidas "five months ahead of the expiration of his contract" (AP, 1/18).
