August 23, 2022: -On Monday, German sporting goods maker Adidas declared that its Chief Executive Kasper Rorsted would quit his post in the coming year before his contract ran out and that it had started digging for a successor.

“After three tough years marked by the economic consequences of the COVID-19-pandemic and geo-political tensions, it is the right time to start a CEO transition and pave the way for a restart,” supervisory board Chairman Thomas Rabe stated.

The group also added that Rorsted and its supervisory board had agreed mutually that the CEO would hand over his position in 2023. It added that he would remain in office until a successor was appointed.

Rorsted, who has been at the helm of Adidas since the year 2016, said that it had needed “huge efforts” to master the challenges of the past few years.

“This is why allowing a restart in 2023 is the right thing to do – both for the company and me personally,” he said but did not elaborate on why he was leaving. Adidas had 2020 extended his contract until July 31, 2026.

Shares in Adidas extended losses on the news, trading 3.2% lower by 1150 GMT, underperforming the blue-chip DAX index, which was 2% lower.

In the previous month, Adidas sliced its 2022 earnings target, which cited a much lesser than expected comeback in China from pandemic restrictions.