As end-of-term reports go, former Henkel CEO KASPER RORSTED's "is not too bad," according to James Shotter of the FINANCIAL TIMES. When the news broke on Monday that the 53-year-old Dane "was leaving Henkel to become the new boss" at adidas, Henkel lost €1B ($1.07B) of its market value. Adidas "gained a similar amount."
It "is not hard to see why." During his eight years as CEO, Rorsted "has revivified Henkel, pushing up revenues, driving further into emerging markets and improving margins." Investors in adidas are hoping that Rorsted "can pull off the same trick again." One investor said, "He’s an optimizer, which is just what they need. And he’s a doer. He’s not someone who spends ages sitting around strategizing."
On the face of it, the multilingual Rorsted and the world’s second largest sportswear company "are a good match." The "dynamic manager" -- who played handball for Denmark’s national youth team -- "is a keen athlete." He "is also a passionate fan of Bayern Munich, Germany’s most successful football team, which just happens to be sponsored -- and part-owned -- by his future employer." People who know him say the son of a university professor "has huge intellectual curiosity." One colleague said, "At business reviews he’s like a machine. He just fires off question after question after question."
Insiders at Henkel "suspect that this intellectual restlessness may have spurred him" to join adidas. Outsiders "see it as a natural move after eight years in charge" (FT, 1/22).
