Adidas chair reelected to 2026 despite shareholder revolt

(Reuters) -Adidas shareholders approved the reelection of Chairman Thomas Rabe on Thursday 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 U.S. 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.

(Reporting by Alexander Huebner and Helen Reid. Editing by Tomasz Janowski and Mark Potter)