Last member of Adidas' founding family leaves company

Now that Frank Dassler has left German sports brand Adidas, it signals the end of the Dassler family’s reign. He was Rudi Dassler’s grandson, the man who founded competitor Puma.

Used to work at Puma

Frank Dassler (61 years old) headed Adidas’ judicial division since 2004, but has officially retired at the end of January Adidas confirmed the news, which means there is no one left of the founding family. Nevertheless, Dassler will remain a face for the company, because he will still represent it at several industry organizations. It is not clear who will succeed him as head of the division, because that decision will not be taken for several months. Paul Ehrlich will temporarily take over.

Dassler went to work for Puma’s PR division when he was a student of law and helped create the research division in the early 1980’s. Between 1985 and 1987, he also took charge of Puma’s American subsidiary.

Adidas was founded in 1949 by Adi Dassler, about a year after his brother Rudolf Dassler launched Puma. Previously, both brothers worked in a popular shoe company, founded in 1924, but when the relationship turned sour, they each went their own way. The Dassler family’s reach in Puma is also almost entirely gone.