adidas' Alasdhair Willis on Why Innovation Begins and Ends With the Athlete

As Chief Creative Officer, I help shape the creative direction of the global adidas brand, leading a community of designers, creators and innovators united by a shared ambition: to shape the future of sport.

My role sits at the intersection of creativity, innovation, design and culture, where we transform athlete insights, breakthrough technologies and bold ideas into experiences, products and stories that move both athletes and the brand forward.

Why the topic of innovation IS so important

Innovation is how progress becomes possible.

Sport has always been about pushing beyond perceived limits. Athletes continue to redefine what the human body can achieve, and innovation is what enables that journey. It is the bridge between ambition and reality.

Today, innovation is not simply about creating something new. It's about solving real problems, responding to changing athlete needs, and creating meaningful improvements that make a measurable difference. That's why innovation remains central to everything we do.

DEFINING INNOVATION

For us, innovation begins and ends with the athlete.

There is often a temptation to define innovation through technology alone. We see it differently. Technology is only valuable if it helps unlock human potential.

Our role at adidas is to identify the barriers standing between athletes and their goals, then bring together creativity, science, design and engineering to remove those barriers. When innovation is successful, the athlete doesn't think about the technology. They simply experience performance at a new level.

That mindset has shaped some of the most important projects in our history and continues to guide where we go next. At the same time, we are consciously building the future archive: creating, testing and documenting the innovations, learnings and breakthroughs that will define the next generation of sport.

Today's experiments become tomorrow's benchmarks, ensuring that every step forward contributes to a lasting legacy of athlete-driven innovation.

how innovation lives at adidas

The core philosophy for innovation is adidas is – only the best for the athlete, at speed.

Three years ago, we reset the focus of our innovation organization around that belief. We challenged ourselves to move faster, think bigger, and build an even closer relationship with our athletes than ever before.

Since then, we have worked side by side with athletes across many sports and disciplines, using their needs, insights, and ambitions to shape everything we create. Their pursuit of excellence drives our own, and it continues to push us forward every day.

The most powerful innovations happen when designers, engineers, researchers, product creators, sports scientists and athletes come together around a shared challenge. The athlete becomes the center of the process, and every decision is made in service of helping them perform at their best.

One example is the evolution of our Adizero franchise. What began as a relentless pursuit of speed has become one of the most successful innovation stories in sport. The product continues to prove itself where it matters most: on the world's biggest stages, with the world's fastest athletes.

From Sibusiso Kubheka becoming the first human in history to run 100km in under six hours at Nardo in ‘25 to Sabastian Sawe breaking the elusive 2-hour barrier at the London Marathon – these are the ultimate proof points of innovation on field of play. 

But what excites me most is not any single product. It's the system behind it. The ability to continuously learn from athletes, rapidly prototype new ideas and transform insights into solutions is what allows us to keep moving sport forward.

the future of innovation

The future of innovation will be more human, more responsive and more connected than ever before.

Advances in AI, computational design and digital technologies will accelerate our ability to create, test and refine ideas at unprecedented speed. These tools will help us understand athletes more deeply and develop solutions more efficiently.

Yet despite all of these advances, our focus will remain unchanged. The fundamental challenge is still understanding human potential and finding new ways to unlock it.

Technology will continue to evolve. What must remain constant is our commitment to the athlete.

CREATING THE Home of Innovation

Home of Innovation is our living laboratory. It is where we explore, experiment, learn, and refine. It is where athlete insights become ideas, where ideas become prototypes, and where prototypes evolve into the next generation of performance solutions.

What makes this space special is that it is never finished. It constantly evolves as we learn more about athletes and uncover new possibilities.

Over the last several years, we've built a remarkable pipeline of athlete-centered innovation across adidas. Products that have helped athletes break records, redefine performance and achieve moments that were once thought impossible.

We reached a point where these innovations needed a home. A place where athletes, media, partners and employees could come together to see, touch and understand the thinking behind the breakthroughs.

It is more than an event. It is a declaration of intent. A commitment to showcasing how adidas is shaping the future of sport through creativity, science and performance innovation. It provides a platform where proof, storytelling and ambition come together.

It is not simply a vision of the future. It is the future, continuously being built. 

WHERE The Home of Innovation IS CENTeRED

We started with the athlete.

Across sports, regardless of discipline or level, certain performance challenges are universal. Athletes want to move faster. They want to perform in heat more effectively. They want to become stronger, more resilient and better prepared for the demands of competition.

Future of Fast, Future of Cool and Future of Strength represent three of the most meaningful opportunities for innovation to make a difference.

These pillars give us a clear framework for focusing our efforts while also providing clear takeaways for our consumers to understand the positioning of adidas’s innovation.

DEFINING SUCCESS

Success is simple. Success is seeing athletes achieve something they could not achieve before.

Of course, business results matter. Cultural impact matters. Brand perception matters. But those outcomes are ultimately the result of creating genuine value for athletes and consumers.

When our innovations help athletes redefine possibility, when our products become part of historic sporting moments, and when people look at adidas as the brand shaping the future of sport, that's when we know we're making a meaningful contribution.

The goal is not simply to create products.

The goal is to help write the next chapter of sport and position adidas as the leading innovation brand for sport & performance.

BUILDING ON SUCCESS

Success can never become a destination.

The remarkable achievements we've seen in running over recent years validate the work happening across adidas, but they also create a new responsibility. Every breakthrough raises expectations. Every record invites new challengers.

The moment you become comfortable with leadership is the moment you stop leading.

Our task is to remain curious, ambitious and slightly dissatisfied. To continue searching for the next unlock, the next marginal gain and the next breakthrough that athletes haven't yet imagined is possible.

The future of speed is not about protecting what we've achieved. It's about creating what comes next.