Adidas adds Vanessa LeFebvre to North America executive team

By

Gabriella Lacombe

Published
Jun 27, 2019

Vanessa LeFebvre, former president of Lord & Taylor, has been named as Adidas’ senior vice president of commercial.

In the new role, LeFebvre will be responsible for managing the sportswear brand’s wholesale, stores and online businesses in the United States, according to multiple reports.

She will be based in Portland, Oregon, at Adidas’ North America headquarters, and will begin the role next month.

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Last week, LeFebvre announced on her LinkedIn page that she would be stepping down from her role as president with Lord & Taylor. She began the role in May 2018. Prior to Lord & Taylor, LeFebvre served as vice president of women’s buying (GMM) at Stitch Fix from May 2017 to May 2018. Before Stitch Fix, the new Adidas executive spent over four years with Macy’s, most recently serving as senior vice president, GM, Macy’s Backstage. 

The new appointment comes as Adidas' U.S. arm deals with controversy over a lack of corporate diversity. Earlier this June, a New York Times report revealed that less than 4.5% of the staff employed at the group's North American headquarters identify as black; a number that amounts to fewer than 100 people out of 1,700 at the company's HQ in Portland. 

In response to the report, an Adidas spokeswoman said the company has expanded its North American diversity and inclusion team to focus on underrepresented communities its workforce, and that its diversity strategy includes programs to help bring new employees from diverse backgrounds to positions at the company’s corporate headquarters.