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what behaviors we expect from our leaders. We want to en
sure that our employees have the same leadership experience
globally, no matter where they work. We have one plan, one
leadership framework, one culture and one people strategy.
We are very, very clear and focused on who we are and where
we are going.
PERSONALquarterly:
Is there no conflict in regional characters?
Karen Parkin:
We don’t want to wipe out cultural differences; we
want to embrace cultural differences. And we want to do that
through sport. It is important that the people we hire under
stand our culture and who we are. I believe it is important that
our talents have a personal connection to us. You don’t want to
work for a company where your heart and soul doesn’t connect,
do you? I believe we are an incredibly exciting company to join,
in China as we are in the US as we are in Argentina as we are
in Germany. But do we want one size fits all? No we don’t. We
like diversity and we love the diversity of culture.
PERSONALquarterly:
How many diversity dimensions are important
in your HR policy?
Karen Parkin:
Within our diversity strategy we focus on gender,
generations and cultural differences which we also call our
‘passport’. Our fourth focus, especially in the US, is race. Gen
der is a key focus for us. We have a 50/50 gender split in our
organization. What we need to focus on more is that this split is
better balanced throughout all areas of the company. We need
to have more female leaders in the organization.
PERSONALquarterly:
You are the only woman on the board.
Karen Parkin:
Yes, but it is not just about the board. The question
for me is how we can ensure we get more female talents in
more senior executive roles. Our goal is to have at least 32%
women in leadership positions. But let me be clear, we don’t
want to hire or promote a woman just because of the quota.
We always want the best candidate for the position. That’s
really important for everybody to understand. We want to stay
authentic, and therefore we will not change this. It is very im
portant that the women know they have been selected because
they are the best, not just because they are a woman.
KAREN PARKIN
Adidas AG, Herzogenaurach
E-Mail:
Karen Parkin ist seit Mai 2017 Mitglied des Adidas-Vorstands und
verantwortlich für Human Resources. Die Britin mit zusätzlichem
US-Pass kam 1997 in Großbritannien als Sales Director zu Adidas.
Nach den Stationen als Head of Customer Services und Business
Development Director ging Parkin in die USA, wo sie schließlich
die Beschaffungskette für Nordamerika verantwortete. 2013 und
2014 pendelte die 52-Jährige als Senior Vice President Global
Supply Chain zwischen dem US-Standort Portland und der Zen-
trale in Herzogenaurach. Im November 2014 wurde Karen Parkin
Personalchefin.
PERSONALquarterly:
But you have flexible working regulations,
kids’ campus, coaching and lifelong learning – are these special
programs for women?
Karen Parkin:
Let’s be clear, we don’t bring those programs to life
just for women. All of these programs like off-campus working
give all our employees the opportunity to have a family and a
career. We want to ensure that we have the right programs in
place to encourage both males and females to grow and develop
