Adidas CEO Outlines Key Strategy Behind Company's Turnaround

Adidas CEO Bjorn Gulden has identified the removal of "no-sayers" as a critical strategy behind the sportswear giant's recent revival. Gulden told an audience at the Fast Company Innovation Festival in New York that such individuals hinder innovation and slow down decision-making processes.

Gulden assumed leadership in January 2023, a period when Adidas was grappling with the fallout from its severed Yeezy partnership with Kanye West and declining sales in the Chinese market. The company also faced increasing competition from emerging brands like Hoka and On.

In February 2025, Adidas announced plans to cut up to 500 jobs at its headquarters in Bavaria, Germany. Gulden's focus has been on streamlining decision-making and empowering creative employees, believing decisions should be made by those with the most energy and innovation.

"Get the spreadsheets out of the discussion for a while and let the designers and the creatives actually do what they want," Gulden stated. He also emphasized that technology is secondary to having the best people.

As a marker of the company's resurgence, Kenyan runner Sabastian Sawe recently completed the London Marathon in under two hours wearing Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3 shoes. Gulden's contract was extended in March 2024 through 2030, citing "tremendous operational and financial progress in a challenging environment."