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Adidas HR head Karen Parkin steps down

By Prachi Singh

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Business

After 23 years at Adidas, Karen Parkin, executive board member responsible for global human resources has left the company effective June 30, 2020. The company said in a statement that Adidas CEO Kasper Rorsted will assume responsibility for global human resources on an interim basis until a successor is appointed.

Commenting on Parkin’s departure from the company, Igor Landau, Chairman of the supervisory board of Adidas Ag, said: “Karen has served Adidas with leadership and dedication for more than 23 years and always acted in the best interests of our company and our people. Her decision to leave the company reflects that commitment and her belief that a new HR leader will best drive forward the pace of change that Adidas needs at this time.”

Parkin first joined Adidas in 1997 as sales director Adidas UK. Since that time, she has held a number of positions of increasing responsibility at the company across customer service, business development, supply chain and human resources, culminating in leading global human resources over the past five and a half years. She was appointed to the executive board in 2017.

“Karen has played a key role in the success and growth of Adidas over the past few years. She elevated and centralized human resources into a world-class function, developed and led our people strategy and launched many successful employee programs. She has played a significant part in our focus over the past few weeks as to how we move forward as a company to fight racial inequality and build a more diverse Adidas. She and the HR organization also were instrumental in securing the health and safety of our 60,000 Adidas employees throughout the coronavirus pandemic. I would like to thank Karen for everything she has done for the company,” added Rorsted.

On her decision to leave the company, Parkin said: “Now is the right time for a new HR leader to take over the function, to seize the opportunity before us and drive forward the pace of change to create a more diverse and inclusive Adidas that we can all be proud of.”

Picture:Adidas media centre

Adidas
Karen Parkin