Herbert Hainer
After graduating from high school, Hainer studied business administration. In 1979, Hainer joined the German subsidiary of the US group "Procter & Gamble GmbH" in Schwalbach. He worked as a sales manager for the cleaning products and cosmetics manufacturer. In 1987, Hainer began working for the company "adidas", founded by Adolf Dassler, as a sales manager, where he was initially responsible for the bags, rackets and balls, and then, from 1989, for shoes and textiles. From 1991 to 1993, Hainer held the position of national sales manager for adidas. In 1993, Hainer was promoted to managing director of the company and was given responsibility for sales and logistics. In this role, Hainer was involved in the extensive restructuring measures that the new owner and CEO Robert Louis-Dreyfus implemented to lead "adidas AG" out of the crisis and restructure it after its unsuccessful takeover by Bernard Tapie. From 1996 onwards, Hainer also served as Senior Vice President of the Europe, Africa and Middle East business regions for the sales and logistics departments.
Meanwhile, Hainer had married. He became a father of two children. In the spring of 1997, Hainer joined the board of "adidas AG". The expansion and consolidation of the company was now completed through the acquisition of the sporting goods manufacturer "Salomon S. A." pushed further. "adidas-Salomon AG", newly founded in December 1997, became the first sporting goods manufacturer in Europe. Worldwide, only the US company "Nike" outstrips it. In 1999, Hainer was appointed deputy chairman of the board. To increase productivity, Hainer reduced the product range and made sales structures more effective. He also drove forward the online sales of "adidas-Salomon" items, which began in spring 2000. In March 2001, Hainer took over the chairmanship of adidas-Salomon AG from Louis-Dreyfus. In this role, 12 months later, he was able to point to a positive sales balance for his first year of management.
For his role in the development of the adidas brand into an international lifestyle label, Hainer was awarded the Bambi in the "Economy" category in November 2003. In October 2004, Hainer announced increased expansion in the US market, where adidas wanted to compete with its competitor Nike in the field of football products. In October 2005, adidas sold its winter sports and outdoor division Salomon to the Finnish Amer Sports Corporation for more than 485 million euros after the division was only making losses. In 2005, Hainer received the "Entrepreneur of the Year" award and in 2006 the German Image Award. In 2008 he was honored with the Federal Cross of Merit. In 2010 he was named Manager of the Year (Manager Magazine) and in 2011 he received the Bavarian Order of Merit.
At the beginning of 2016 it was announced that Hainer would resign from his board of directors at Adidas AG early on September 30, 2016. On November 15, 2019, he was elected President of FC Bayern Munich, succeeding Uli Hoeneß. He also remained on the supervisory board of the Bayerische Versicherungsbank, Lufthansa and the board of the management consultancy Accenture.
Meanwhile, Hainer had married. He became a father of two children. In the spring of 1997, Hainer joined the board of "adidas AG". The expansion and consolidation of the company was now completed through the acquisition of the sporting goods manufacturer "Salomon S. A." pushed further. "adidas-Salomon AG", newly founded in December 1997, became the first sporting goods manufacturer in Europe. Worldwide, only the US company "Nike" outstrips it. In 1999, Hainer was appointed deputy chairman of the board. To increase productivity, Hainer reduced the product range and made sales structures more effective. He also drove forward the online sales of "adidas-Salomon" items, which began in spring 2000. In March 2001, Hainer took over the chairmanship of adidas-Salomon AG from Louis-Dreyfus. In this role, 12 months later, he was able to point to a positive sales balance for his first year of management.
For his role in the development of the adidas brand into an international lifestyle label, Hainer was awarded the Bambi in the "Economy" category in November 2003. In October 2004, Hainer announced increased expansion in the US market, where adidas wanted to compete with its competitor Nike in the field of football products. In October 2005, adidas sold its winter sports and outdoor division Salomon to the Finnish Amer Sports Corporation for more than 485 million euros after the division was only making losses. In 2005, Hainer received the "Entrepreneur of the Year" award and in 2006 the German Image Award. In 2008 he was honored with the Federal Cross of Merit. In 2010 he was named Manager of the Year (Manager Magazine) and in 2011 he received the Bavarian Order of Merit.
At the beginning of 2016 it was announced that Hainer would resign from his board of directors at Adidas AG early on September 30, 2016. On November 15, 2019, he was elected President of FC Bayern Munich, succeeding Uli Hoeneß. He also remained on the supervisory board of the Bayerische Versicherungsbank, Lufthansa and the board of the management consultancy Accenture.