Adidas recently revealed that it is looking to replace its current chairman, German business executive Thomas Rabe.
Thomas Rabe joined Adidas AG’s Supervisory Board in May 2019 and has been its chairman since August 11, 2020.
The Egyptian billionaire has been on Adidas’s supervisory board since 2016 and has held the position of deputy chairman since 2025.
He is also a major stakeholder in the sporting goods company, with a 7% stake through his investment vehicle (NNS Group), making him one of the company’s largest shareholders.
Nassef Sawiris, currently worth $9.30 billion, also owns stakes in other sporting brands, such as a 5% share in Madison Square Garden Sports, the owner of the NBA’s New York Knicks and the NHL’s New York Rangers.
He is the chair and co-owner of Aston Villa Football Club in the Premier League.
Sawiris, the son of the late Egyptian industrialist Onsi Sawiris, patraic to one of Africa’s most powerful families, who established the Orascom Group conglomerate, is in charge of OCI, one of the biggest producers of nitrogen fertilizer worldwide.
Reports in September last year indicated that Nassef Sawiris had set his sights on the U.S market, with the intent to invest up to $50 billion in the North American country’s infrastructure projects.
After selling off assets worth more than $11.6 billion over the past few years, Nassef Sawiris is nearing the completion of the dissolution of his Dutch-listed fertilizer and chemicals company, OCI Global.
His appointment as chairman of Adidas would bring an end to Thomas Rabe’s 6-year reign, which was at some point tumultuous.
As seen on Yahoo Finance, the company’s current CEO, a Norwegian businessman and former professional football player, Bjorn Gulden, was hired in 2023 to handle ‘a company in turmoil.’
The disclosure of the Egyptian billionaire’s potential chairmanship was made concurrently with the announcement of Bjorn Gulden’s contract extension, which is scheduled to run until 2030.
“With his long-standing experience, his deep understanding of our industry, his strong leadership, and his clear focus on quality growth, Bjørn Gulden drove the successful turnaround of Adidas during the past three years,” Thomas Rabe said in a statement on Wednesday.
Adidas current projection
As seen on Reuters, Adidas’s 2026 profit forecast, which fell short of market expectations, plummeted more than 7% on Wednesday.
With companies like Adidas significantly exposed to Southeast Asian manufacturing hubs and subject to high U.S. tariffs on imports from Vietnam and other nations, investors have become increasingly concerned about the prospects for growth at sportswear brands.
Furthermore, concerns have been heightened by the conflict in the Middle East, as one Adidas store in Israel was damaged in an attack and businesses throughout the region were forced to close in recent days.
Adidas predicted an operational profit of about 2.3 billion euros ($2.7 billion) this year, which is less than the 10% analysts had predicted and suggests a margin of less than 9%.
According to the group, it now anticipates reaching a margin of more than 10% only in 2028.
