Rebellious Optimists - A People Podcast from adidas

In the summer of 2020, the death of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis sparked a wave of protests felt across the world. This period also marked a watershed career moment for Hannah Mercer. Growing up in multicultural South London, Hannah always celebrated diversity. But as a teen, she saw how racism affected her friends. Now Vice President of Retail Activation & Merchandising at adidas, Hannah works tirelessly to ensure that the brand's 34,000 retail ambassadors work in an inclusive environment and culture. Because, as she explains, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion shouldn't be the responsibility of just one department. In today's Rebellious Optimists episode, Hannah explains why leadership is integral to effecting change, how we can all make our voices heard and the importance of using our privilege to get others a seat at the table.

Biodiversity isn't just about abstract beauty and wonder. It's what future-proofs our world. For Angela Mantilla, armed with a background in biology, this means interrogating how things are produced at one of the world's biggest sports brands. Her Footprint Analytics team was critical to the adidas vision of creating a low-carbon, high-performance shoe – an ambitious moonshot that saw the brand really pushing boundaries. In 2020, they teamed up with eco-friendly shoe specialists Allbirds to create the FutureCraft Footprint, turning a competitor into a collaborator to help achieve this goal. In today's Rebellious Optimists episode, Angela talks about the highs and lows of that FutureCraft Footprint project. She explains how her scientific thinking has helped drive difficult decision-making and why, when it comes to sustainability, it's better to start simple.

Playing sport at a high level from a young age, Katja Schreiber knows adidas provide products that are built to last (she still owns her favorite pair of adidas shoes from her days competing). 17 years on, she is now the Senior Vice President of Sustainability at the brand she loved as a child, still with the same athlete's mindset and desire to push herself. In the latest episode of Rebellious Optimists, Katja explains why adidas is focusing on sustainability with more intensity than ever before, and the three key areas they have chosen to double-down on. She talks about how the brand has the potential to make a massive impact, and what drives her to make sure that they get it right.

As consumers, we often see products online or in stores without thinking about how they got there. For Hoa Ly, the Senior Vice President for Sourcing at adidas, she's made this part of the supply chain her career focus for over two decades. Growing up in a small town in Vietnam, the 3 Stripes brand was already infamous with everyone referring to their sports shoes as 'adidas'. Now living in Hong Kong, Hoa and her team are determined to turn design dreams into the real-life products we know and love. In today's Rebellious Optimists episode, Hoa talks about the challenges and possibilities of a function that indirectly employs one million people. She shares why she has stayed at adidas for more than 20 years, and her all-important golden rules for leadership.

How do you create a product that delivers performance, sustainability and inclusivity? As Creative Director for adidas Outdoor, Andre Doxey juggles these design demands every day. In today’s Rebellious Optimists episode, Andre explains how he helped find a new audience for adidas Outdoor by fusing together the functionality of mountain gear, with the fashion of streetwear. He talks about how he empowers his creative team to make bold decisions, and how prioritizing sustainability inspired them to create a game-changing products.

From the meeting room, to the boardroom, feeling included can empower us as individuals. For Amanda Rajkumar, representation is vital to achieving diverse decision making in a global brand like adidas. As the Executive Board Member of Global Human Resources, People and Culture, she's passionate about diversity too, rallying for more women leaders in senior leadership positions. In this episode of Rebellious Optimists, she discusses the company's ambitious targets for gender parity and how she’s helping shape the way adidas thinks about DE&I (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) in the workplace.

adidas running shoes have a long history of dominating the field. But in 2017, big changes in the world of performance footwear meant adidas had to innovate fast or get left behind. Enter Senior Director of Global Running Footwear Stephan Scholten who, in the Rebellious Optimists spirit, took on the challenge to deliver a new shoe that could smash records. In today’s episode, Stephan shares how biomechanical engineering, carbon rods, product development, and teamwork came together to create a new line of record-breaking running shoes the world hadn't seen before.

Automation is fast becoming an essential part of our everyday lives. For Moh Ghadban, embracing these solution-focused technologies has been an absolute game-changer. As Director of Platform Engineering, Moh’s team is working to increase the productivity of the staff at adidas, by removing the repetitive and boring parts of their jobs. On the latest Rebellious Optimists episode, he speaks to host Twiggy Jalloh on bringing balance and more happiness to our lives through automation and why robots really can be our friends.

Millions of us across the globe understand that the right gear is essential in bringing our A-game. But it’s hard to get it right. Global SVP of Sportswear + Training Aimee Arana has made it her mission to shake up traditional sportswear, especially for women. She kicks off our Rebellious Optimists series to share how adidas are leading an all-inclusive Bra Revolution, and keeping girls in sport with the ground breaking innovation of Stay-In-Play period-proof tights. Opening up to host Twiggy Jalloh, Aimee talks about the importance of listening to what consumers want and trusting in a bold vision to create a truly inclusive brand.