While he was gushing about the opportunities for the expansion of Rockport under the ownership of Adidas just a few days ago, Rick Paterno, the American footwear company’s president and chief executive officer, announced at the beginning of this week that he would resign from his position from the start of next year. Adidas, which acquired Rockport as part of Reebok two years ago, indicated that Paterno wanted to spend more time with his family and to explore openings in other sectors. After nearly 7 years at the helm, Paterno will be succeeded by Michael Rupp, a long-time Adidas executive. With the German company since 1987, Rupp returned from a sabbatical in 2005 to co-lead the integration between Adidas and Reebok. Since August 2006 he has served as a chief operating officer for Reebok. Already based in Canton, Mass., Michael Rupp steered Reebok’s international expansion, which yielded substantial results in Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe. He will report directly to Herbet Hainer, chairman and chief executive at Adidas.