Adidas is swapping out longtime CFO Harm Ohlmeyer for Birgit Kretschmer at the end of 2026, a leadership change that reaches from the company's German headquarters to its North American base in Portland. For the roughly 2,000 employees at the Portland campus, it is a global boardroom handoff with a hometown connection.
Portland Business Journal first reported the succession, saying Kretschmer will become adidas' chief financial officer while Ohlmeyer departs after nearly three decades with the company. Adidas' Portland careers page identifies the city as the company's North American headquarters and says the campus is home to roughly 2,000 employees.
Ohlmeyer has held the CFO role since 2017, after joining adidas in 1998 and moving through finance, sales and digital-commerce leadership posts. The company's 2025 annual report also lists him as labor director, with additional responsibility for supply chain and technology.
Adidas Brings Back A Familiar Finance Executive
Kretschmer is not an outside hire parachuting into the three-stripe giant. A Ceconomy board biography says she spent much of her career at adidas, including leadership roles in group treasury, international finance, Western Europe finance and corporate operations finance.
She later became CFO of C&A Mode in 2021 and has served on corporate supervisory boards, giving her experience across sporting goods, fashion retail and consumer businesses. Her return puts a veteran adidas operator back in the company's top finance seat at a moment when the brand is trying to turn strong momentum into steadier long-term growth.
The timing comes as adidas reports a business that is growing quickly but still dealing with a messy global backdrop. In its Q1 results release, the company reported 14% currency-neutral revenue growth, €6.6 billion in quarterly sales and operating profit of €705 million, while warning that currencies and tariffs remain headwinds.
Portland Remains The North American Command Center
Adidas' broader plan calls for high-single-digit currency-neutral sales growth in 2026 and operating profit of about €2.3 billion, according to its 2025 results announcement. That gives Kretschmer a clear assignment: help finance continued expansion while the company absorbs tariffs, currency pressure and the costs of keeping its product pipeline moving.
The Portland Business Journal report did not identify any Portland-specific job or office changes tied to the CFO transition. For now, the local takeaway is simpler: Portland remains the North American hub for a global sportswear company whose biggest financial decisions are about to get a new author.
