Mentor list / Mentor bio
Overview
Kasper Rørsted currently serves as Board Member at Siemens AG (since February 2021) and at A.P. Møller – Mærsk AS (since 2023), as Independent Non-Executive Director at Lenovo Group Ltd (since 2023), and as Chair at Woom GmbH, the successful Austrian, private equity owned producer of child-friendly bikes (since 2023). He is also a member of the Advisory Board of the AI robotics start-up Circus Group (since 2025).
He is best known for his tenure as CEO of Adidas AG (2016-2022), during which he revitalised the brand, doubled North American sales, accelerated digital transformation, and positioned Adidas as a sustainability leader—earning recognition as one of the world’s top-performing CEOs in 2019—and before Adidas, as CEO of Henkel AG & KGaA (2008-2016), overseeing a fourfold increase in market capitalisation.
Earlier in his career, he held senior roles at Hewlett-Packard and Compaq across EMEA markets. Recently he also served as a Senior Adviser to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. LP and as Board Member at Nestlé S.A. (2018-2022) and Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA (2011-2019).
These roles reflect his deep expertise in high-tech, consumer goods, and industrial governance at the highest level.
He brings deep cross-sector expertise in:
• Consumer goods & brand turnaround – steering Adidas from plateau to growth through innovation, digital channels, and bold brand reinvention
• Board governance & digital industrial strategy – serving on Siemens, Lenovo and A.P. Møller – Mærsk boards during pivotal periods of technology adoption and supply-chain evolution
• Global operating leadership & change management – at Henkel and Adidas leading teams across Europe, Asia, and North America to embed culture shift and performance excellence
• Sustainability & ESG Integration – embedding durable sustainability practices with measurable impact on product innovation and plastic reduction
Educated at Copenhagen Business College (International Business, 1985) and with executive training at Harvard, Kasper is recognised for his analytical mindset, decisive action, and commitment to purpose-driven leadership. His mentoring is particularly impactful for executives managing legacy organisations through digital reinvention and board governance evolution.
PDF Profile
download pdf profileMajor Career Roles
Adidas AG
CEO
Henkel AG & KGaA
CEO and Chair
Siemens AG
Board member
A.P. Møller – Mærsk AS
Board member
Lenovo Group Ltd
Independent Non-Executive Director
Other Career Highlights
EMEA
Senior Vice President and General Manager
Nestle SA
Independent Director
AB InBev SA
Independent Non-Executive Director
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co LP
Senior Adviser