Adidas names new global marketing chief

The appointment of Liedtke, who was vice-president of marketing for Adidas America, follows the conclusion of the £160m global pitch to consolidate the media planning and buying for the Adidas and Reebok accounts into Carat.

Becker, who starts his new role on July 17, will oversee global product and sports marketing, global brand marketing and global brand public relations for Reebok, and will report directly to Paul Harrington, president and chief executive of the Reebok brand.

He replaces Dennis Baldwin, who has left Reebok to pursue new professional interests. Baldwin and Becker had taken a joint role leading the marketing team in the Adidas and Reebok integration process, which started when Adidas purchased the Reebok brand last August for £2.1bn.

Becker has been with the Adidas Group more than 16 years and during that period, he has held various senior management positions in product marketing, brand communication, advertising, media and sales on a global, regional and local level.

Harrington said: "Strengthening our marketing and brand positioning is a cornerstone to our business strategy at Reebok.

"Uli and his Reebok brand marketing team will expand upon and evolve our overall brand marketing strategy around individuality and authenticity, while also focusing on our key performance strategic initiatives, which include running and our league relationships with the NFL, NHL and MLB."

A replacement for Becker in his former role of head of global brand marketing for Adidas is now being sought. Becker will be based at the Reebok worldwide headquarters in the US. 

Reebok was responsible for the recent "I am what I am" campaign featuring celebrities including rapper 50 Cent and Olympic boxer Amir Khan.

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This article was first published on brandrepublic.com