Under Armour taps Adidas vet for key post, acquires sustainable fashion brand

Under Armour has named Eric Liedtke as executive VP of brand strategy.

Under Armour has named a former Adidas executive to its leadership team. 

The athletic performance apparel and footwear company also is acquiring Unless Collective, a zero-plastic regenerative fashion brand co-founded and led by Eric Liedtke.  The deal is expected to be completed later this week at which time Liedtke will join Under Armour  as executive VP of brand strategy. 

In other changes, Under Armour chief consumer officer Jim Dausch is leaving the company at the end of August “to pursue other opportunities,” according to an SEC filing. 

Liedtke had a 26-year career at Adidas Group, culminating in his roles as brand president and executive board member from 2014 to 2019. In 2020, he and industry executives from Adidas, Quicksilver and R/GA founded Unless with the goal of pioneering “a better way for the industry to prove that plants could replace plastics in the creation of apparel and footwear,” Under Armour said in a release. 

Liedtke will be globally accountable for amplifying Under Armour’s brand identity and storytelling, its strategic planning process and executing transformational initiatives that accelerate growth for the company while continuing to lead and curate Unless. He will report to Kevin Plank, who returned as Under Armour president and CEO in April, and oversee the company’s brand presence through category marketing, consumer intelligence, creative, marketing operations, loyalty, social media, sports marketing and all strategy functions.