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The head of human resources at sportswear giant Adidas has resigned amid a dispute over the company’s corporate culture and lack of diversity.
Karen Parkin is a British citizen who had worked at Adidas for over 20 years.
His departure follows protests by Adidas staff over a comment he reportedly made at an internal meeting last year.
Global brands face increasing pressure to act on racial equality after George Floyd’s death.
In a statement issued by the world’s second largest sportswear maker, Parkin said he had always opposed racism and “had decided to withdraw and pave the way for change.”
According to the Wall Street Journal, earlier this month a group of more than 80 Adidas workers called for an investigation into the management of Parkin ‘racism, diversity and inclusion.
Parkin said at an employee meeting at Adidas’ Reebok brand headquarters last year that the issue of racism was “noise” that was only raised in the United States.
His resignation is one of the highest-profile corporate movements to date, as Floyd’s death in May has intensified the focus of the discussion on racism and inequality worldwide.
Ms. Parkin, who is leaving office with immediate effect, was the only woman on the company’s board of directors.
More diversity
His resignation means that the company’s executive board is now made up entirely of white men. Adidas previously said it would take steps to address the issues of diversity and inclusion.
The company has promised to ensure that at least 30% of its new employees in the United States come from black or Latino backgrounds.
He also set a goal for those groups to fill 12% of their leadership roles in the US in five years.
Adidas is also among the growing number of global brands joining the boycott of social media advertisers for its handling of racist content.
The move comes after the Stop Hate For Profit campaign asked companies to pause their Facebook and Instagram advertising for the month of July.
Some companies have gone further and have suspended their ads on other platforms.
Adidas did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the BBC.
