Adidas investor set to vote against chair re-election

A shareholder of sportswear giant Adidas has said it will be voting against the proposal to reappoint Thomas Rabe as chair of the company at its upcoming Annual General Meeting on May 15.

Allianz Global Investor, Adidas’ 13th biggest investor, said the decision to disapprove of Rabe’s re-election comes as the firm determined that this role next to his simultaneous obligations – CEO of RTL Group and CEO of Bertelsmann Management SE – was “too many commitments”.

In a post on LinkedIn, the investment group noted that in 2024 Adidas had stated it would give Rabe a one-year extension in order to find his successor, which at the time the company already expressed concern over despite approving of the turnover process. Since then, however, Adidas has not come forward with a successor to the chair, nor, what AllianzGI said is “a convincing succession plan”.

AllianzGI is thus calling on Adidas to present to investors a succession plan and ultimately a candidate to allow sufficient time for a seamless handover. The firm said that this candidate should “not serve as an executive at the same time” as the transition period, and they should be “truly independent”.

In a statement, global head of sustainable and impact investing at AllianzGI, Matt Christensen, outlined concern of “over-boarding” as well as “the importance of proactive succession planning”. “A particular focus remains on succession plans for the chairperson. We want to understand the key competencies required for the incoming chair to effectively lead the board, as well as how the search process is managed,” Christensen said.

He continued: “The incoming chair should possess strong leadership skills, industry experience, unquestionable independence, and enough time to lead the board, especially in times of crisis.”

Chairman requested for one-year term, intends to step down next year

Adidas addressed such concerns in a Shareholder Letter sent to investors prior to the AG, seen by FashionUnited. In it, Rabe asks for shareholders to place trust in him for “one more year” and acknowledged the concern around “technical overboarding”. Rabe said that while the initial plan was to enact a handover, “following a thorough review and extensive discussions within the Nomination Committee, the Supervisory Board and our CEO Bjørn Gulden, we concluded that stability, continuity, and experience at the helm of the Supervisory Board are still critical for our business success”.

His statement continued: “During the past two years, we have laid the foundation for continued positive business momentum in 2025 and beyond. Therefore, we want to use the current opportunities, continue to take significant market share, and strongly improve our competitive position in the long run, especially in view of the latest developments in our peer group. At the same time, macroeconomic and geopolitical challenges are increasing, particularly in light of the tariff developments in the US.”

This, combined with Rabe’s long years of experience within Adidas and other publicly listed companies, has led the board to request that he is available for re-election for another one-year term. Rabe affirmed that he was “willing to assume this responsibility” and that he has “sufficient time to fulfill my role as chairman”. At the end of 2026, Rabe intends to leave the company’s Supervisory Board “for good”.