Alasdhair Willis

Willis comes from Yorkshire, England, and studied fine art at the Slade School of Fine Art at University College London. He has said that after leaving college he practiced as an artist for a period before going into magazines to earn a living, and that he helped get the UK literary magazine Modern Review off the ground.⁠[1][2][2]

In 1996 Willis co-founded the design and lifestyle magazine Wallpaper* with editor Tyler Brûlé, serving as its publisher until 2002. He has said that as publisher he was involved in the creative side while also having to develop his business acumen, and that during this period he saw the opportunity to create a design and furniture company in the UK committed to supporting British-based designers.⁠[1][2][2][2]

After leaving Wallpaper*, he did consulting, branding and communication work, with clients including David Beckham, Christie’s, the BBCBBCThe BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) is the United Kingdom’s public broadcaster. Its predecessor was the British Broadcasting Company, formed in 1922, and since 1927 it has been established under a Royal Charter. It provides television, radio, and online services in the UK, is funded mainly by the television licence fee, and broadcasts worldwide in multiple languages through BBC World Service.Open the full entry, adidas and the Richemont Group.⁠[1]

In 2005 Willis founded the furniture design company Established & Sons in London with Sebastian Wrong, Mark Holmes, Angad Paul, Tamara Caspersz and others; its original aim was to design, produce and sell high-end work by British designers in Britain. Designers the company worked with early on included Zaha Hadid and Jasper Morrison, and it later collaborated with designers from abroad such as Maarten Baas and Jaime Hayón.⁠[2][2][2][2][2][2]

By 2009 Established & Sons had opened a gallery in London’s West End showing limited-edition pieces, and its lighting was sold in 40 countries. Willis said he saw the company as a design company rather than a traditional manufacturer.⁠[2][2][2]

Willis’s work with adidas dates back to 2005, when he was involved in the concept and development of adidas by Stella McCartney, the brand’s collaboration with his wife, the designer Stella McCartney; he remained involved in the growth of the collaboration after its launch, and also took a lead role in developing several of adidas’s material innovations.⁠[3][3][3][4]

From 2013 to 2020 Willis was creative director of the British heritage footwear brand Hunter. When he joined, nearly 99% of Hunter’s revenue came from the Original Boot; he has said he put together the company’s initial strategic plan, and began cleaning up the grey market and unofficial distribution channels.⁠[4][1][1][1]

He introduced two product lines, Hunter Original and the specialist outdoor range Hunter Field, extending the brand from footwear into outerwear, knitwear and accessories, and staged four runway shows at London Fashion Week; by 2017 more than 15% of Hunter’s e-commerce sales came from non-footwear categories. During his tenure Hunter also collaborated with brands including Stella McCartney, Dover Street Market, Target, Peppa Pig and Disney, and later shifted from London runway shows to consumer-facing marketing events at outdoor festivals.⁠[1][1][4][4]

After stepping down as creative director, he became a senior adviser to Atypical Partner, Hunter’s parent company.⁠[4]

On March 3, 2022, adidas announced the appointment of Willis as chief creative officer, effective from April, reporting to Brian Grevy, the executive board member responsible for global brands. The role was newly created, taking over and expanding the responsibilities of the former senior vice president of creative direction, Denis Dekovic, and covers the creative direction of the global adidas brand and its three major labels, Performance, Originals and Sportswear, with the aim of unifying the adidas brand experience.⁠[3][5][3][3]

Willis said that taking a permanent role at adidas and evolving the partnership was “an incredibly exciting and natural next step.”⁠[3]

On May 4, 2025, The Venture RoomThe Venture RoomThe Venture Room is a UK entrepreneurial media brand centered on the YouTube channel @theventureroom. Through long-form interviews with founders and street interviews such as “Asking Millionaires How They Got Rich?”, it presents entrepreneurs’ stories and advice to aspiring business owners, and runs an entrepreneur community and brand partnerships.Open the full entry released an episode of street interviews filmed in Marylebone, London, in which Willis was one of the interviewees. Introducing himself as chief creative officer of adidas, he said the key to success was learning to navigate the politics of an organization, that entrepreneurs must find a way to stand out, and that a brand must stay true to its heritage and values.⁠[6][6][6][6]

On September 29, 2026, Willis published a signed article on the adidas Group website as the company’s chief creative officer, describing his role as shaping the creative direction of the global adidas brand and leading a community of designers, creators and innovators. He wrote that at adidas innovation “begins and ends with the athlete,” that its core philosophy is “Only the best for the athlete, at speed,” and that three years earlier the company had reset the focus of its innovation organization around that belief.⁠[7][7][7]

“Learn very quickly how to navigate the politics of an organization.” Willis said that knowing how to navigate any environment to get where you want to be is ultimately what makes a person successful (at 02:51 in the video).⁠[6]

“An opportunity or a gap in the market is not enough on its own.” He said what matters is what you will do differently from the thousands of others chasing the same opportunity; you have to differentiate yourself (at 03:04 in the video).⁠[6][6]

“You can’t veer too far away from your truth.” Asked how adidas sets itself apart, he said a brand must recognize what it is good at and where it can stay true to its heritage and values (at 03:18 in the video).⁠[6]

adidas: Official website: https://www.adidas-group.com/ (opens in a new window).⁠[7]