The two leading executives of the Adidas Group in India were suddenly replaced at the start of this month. Subhinder Singh Prem, group managing director in India, and Vishnu Bhagat, chief operating officer, both left the company. Claus Heckerott, a Canadian who has been vice president of finance for the global sales operations at the group, is taking over from Singh, while Frédéric Serrant has been appointed sales director.
Singh is the executive who built Reebok into the leading international sports brand in India. He was promoted last May to become the managing director for the entire Adidas Group in the country, supervising both the Reebok and Adidas brands, while Singh's former counterpart for the Adidas brand, Andreas Gellner, became the group's managing director for southeast Europe. Adidas declined to provide further information on the reasons behind the departures. Singh told the Business Standard that after 17 years, the time had come for him to leave the group.
Heckerott, a Canadian executive who has been with the Adidas Group for 14 years, will continue to report directly to Roland Auschel, chief sales officer, in his new position. Serrant joined the Indian team in January, after five years as sales director in France. Jérôme Lévèque, 40, has replaced Serrant as French commercial director for the group, overseeing a sales force of some 100 people. He has worked in several sales positions for Adidas and Reebok since 1996.
