Latest news with #ThomasRabe
RTÉ News
16-05-2025
- Business
- RTÉ News
Adidas chair reelected to 2026 despite shareholder revolt
Adidas shareholders have approved the re-election of Chairman Thomas Rabe despite a revolt, with some investors saying Rabe had too many outside commitments and the company had not done enough to find a successor. Shareholders at the group's annual general meeting supported his election for another year with 64.43% of votes, securing Rabe's sixth year in the role, but the margin narrowed compared to last year, when Rabe got 69% of votes. Adidas, in the midst of a turnaround driven by CEO Bjorn Gulden, extended Rabe's mandate last year by 12 months and said it would appoint a successor in 2025. Top investors including Allianz Global Investors rejected Rabe's reelection, saying he did not have enough time to dedicate to Adidas given his outside roles as CEO of Bertelsmann and RTL Group. In a letter to shareholders ahead of the meeting, Rabe said the extra year would give Adidas time to ensure a smooth handover, and that his experience and collaboration with Gulden were valuable especially as US tariffs have triggered economic uncertainty. "At the end of the 2026 Annual General Meeting, I will leave the Supervisory Board of Adidas for good," he added in the letter. Rabe also said he would increase the proportion of women on the board, after proxy adviser Institutional Shareholders Services said Adidas' board was not sufficiently gender-diverse.
Fashion United
16-05-2025
- Business
- Fashion United
Adidas chairman Rabe allowed to continue for another year
Bertelsmann media group's chief executive officer, Thomas Rabe, can continue as chairman of the supervisory board of German sportswear manufacturer Adidas for another year, despite strong opposition from shareholders. At the annual general meeting in Fürth, Rabe received only 64.4 percent of the votes from Adidas shareholders. However, the result is sufficient for another year in office. Rabe has been a member of the supervisory board since 2019 and was elected its chairman in 2020. Rabe had already faced criticism last year because shareholders viewed his dual role as Bertelsmann chief and Adidas supervisor critically. However, the 59-year-old received a mandate for another year, coupled with a request to intensify the search for a successor. 'Failed succession planning' A representative from Deka-Bank said at the annual general meeting: 'We approved the re-election of Mr Rabe one year ago, under the provision that the supervisory board would use the year for succession planning.' He now spoke of a 'missed opportunity' and of a "failed succession planning". Other shareholder groups, including Allianz Global Investors and Union Investment, supported the argument. Rabe himself is convinced that he is still the right person for the job. In a letter to the shareholders, he had already admitted in advance that the accumulation of offices could be perceived as unfavourable. He wrote: 'After thorough examination and detailed discussions in the nomination committee, in the overall supervisory board and with our chief executive officer, Bjørn Gulden, we have now come to the conclusion that stability, continuity and experience at the top of the supervisory board continue to be of critical importance for our business success'. Against this background, the supervisory board is convinced that his 'many years of experience as chairman of the supervisory board of Adidas and other listed companies' as well as the 'very close and good cooperation' with group chief Gulden in this 'phase of great opportunities for Adidas is very valuable and necessary in order to continue to guarantee the sustainable turnaround', the letter continues. Despite the challenges posed by customs policy in the US, Adidas is in a solid economic position. In the first quarter, sales rose by 8 percent to almost 5.5 billion euros. Operating profit climbed to 336 million euros, after 60 million in the same period last year. This article was translated to English using an AI tool. FashionUnited uses AI language tools to speed up translating (news) articles and proofread the translations to improve the end result. This saves our human journalists time they can spend doing research and writing original articles. Articles translated with the help of AI are checked and edited by a human desk editor prior to going online. If you have questions or comments about this process email us at info@
Wall Street Journal
14-05-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Adidas Shareholders to Oppose Chair's Re-Election
Some Adidas ADS 0.09%increase; green up pointing triangle shareholders said they plan to oppose the re-election of supervisory-board chairman Thomas Rabe at the company's annual general meeting, citing the lack of a succession plan. Rabe, chief executive of both German media group Bertelsmann and its listed broadcasting arm RTL Group RRTL -0.46%decrease; red down pointing triangle, has chaired the supervisory board of the German sporting-goods company since 2020. Adidas shareholders are set to vote on a proposal for him to remain in the role for an additional year at the annual meeting scheduled for Thursday.
Fashion Network
13-05-2025
- Business
- Fashion Network
Adidas investor AllianzGI to vote against chair's reelection at AGM
A leading investor in German sportswear company Adidas, opens new tab said on Monday it plans to vote against the reelection of Chair Thomas Rabe at the company's annual shareholders' meeting on Thursday because he holds too many roles at other companies. Despite being concerned about the so-called "overboarding" last year, Allianz Global Investors - the 13th biggest investor in Adidas, according to LSEG data - said it had supported Rabe's reelection on the basis that the company would find a replacement. Since then, the company has not presented a successor or laid out a "convincing" succession plan, Allianz said in a statement. "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," said Matt Christensen, Global Head of Sustainable and Impact Investing at AllianzGI. "The incoming chair should possess strong leadership skills, industry experience, unquestionable independence, and enough time to lead the board, especially in times of crisis." Rabe is Chief Executive Officer at both RTL Group and at Bertelsmann, the media conglomerate that owns RTL. Adidas did not immediately reply to a request for comment. AllianzGI's statement comes after leading proxy advisor Institutional Shareholders Services for the second year recommended investors vote against Rabe's reelection, saying he has too many roles at other companies and that the board is "insufficiently gender diverse". Proxy advisor Glass Lewis recommended investors vote for Rabe's reelection, but that they reject Adidas' executive compensation, saying the company has not engaged sufficiently with shareholders after 41% of them voted against the remuneration report last year. Adidas gave large severance payments of 7.2 million euros ($8.01 million) and 4.8 million euros to two departing executives last year, Glass Lewis said, after three big severance packages in 2023 and a payout of around 15 million euros to former CEO Kasper Rorsted in 2022. "We remain troubled by the allocation of substantial severance payments following the dissent expressed by shareholders in the past two years," Glass Lewis said in its note to shareholders.
Reuters
13-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Adidas investor AllianzGI to vote against chair's reelection at AGM
LONDON, May 12 (Reuters) - A leading investor in German sportswear company Adidas ( opens new tab said on Monday it plans to vote against the reelection of Chair Thomas Rabe at the company's annual shareholders' meeting on Thursday because he holds too many roles at other companies. Despite being concerned about the so-called "overboarding" last year, Allianz Global Investors - the 13th biggest investor in Adidas, according to LSEG data - said it had supported Rabe's reelection on the basis that the company would find a replacement. Since then, the company has not presented a successor or laid out a "convincing" succession plan, Allianz said in a statement. "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," said Matt Christensen, Global Head of Sustainable and Impact Investing at AllianzGI. "The incoming chair should possess strong leadership skills, industry experience, unquestionable independence, and enough time to lead the board, especially in times of crisis." Rabe is Chief Executive Officer at both RTL Group and at Bertelsmann, the media conglomerate that owns RTL. Adidas did not immediately reply to a request for comment. AllianzGI's statement comes after leading proxy advisor Institutional Shareholders Services for the second year recommended investors vote against Rabe's reelection, saying he has too many roles at other companies and that the board is "insufficiently gender diverse". Proxy advisor Glass Lewis recommended investors vote for Rabe's reelection, but that they reject Adidas' executive compensation, saying the company has not engaged sufficiently with shareholders after 41% of them voted against the remuneration report last year. Adidas gave large severance payments of 7.2 million euros ($8.01 million) and 4.8 million euros to two departing executives last year, Glass Lewis said, after three big severance packages in 2023 and a payout of around 15 million euros to former CEO Kasper Rorsted in 2022. "We remain troubled by the allocation of substantial severance payments following the dissent expressed by shareholders in the past two years," Glass Lewis said in its note to shareholders. ($1 = 0.8990 euros)
