Martin Shankland is on Adidas’ executive board. He will be responsible for global operations. He succeeds Gil Steyaert.
Martin Shankland joined Adidas in 1997. Since 2017, he has led Adidas’ emerging markets as managing director, setting up the organisation for sustainable success across the Middle East, Turkey, India and Africa. Prior to that, he was managing director Adidas Russia/CIS for 17 years. Under his leadership, Adidas Russia/CIS became a clear market leader through the development of an extensive own-retail network for both the Adidas and Reebok brands.
Steyaert had worked at Adidas since 1999 in local and regional roles with increasing responsibility, among others as managing director Western Europe from 2013 to 2017. Since 2017, he was executive board member responsible for global operations.
Adidas dominates fashion. It’s technically a sports brand and not a fashion brand. But that hardly matters when sports and style have become inseparable and street wear is blending with high fashion. The brand has opened an experiential new retail store in New York, debuted a sneaker made of synthetic spider silk and sold its first 3D printed shoes. Its classic styles, such as the Stan Smith, Sambas, and especially the Superstar, have helped drive the big swing toward casual shoes.
