Barbara Martin Coppola

Despite its relative obscurity, Decathlon is the world’s third-largest sports brand by revenue, behind only Nike and Adidas. What it lacks in name recognition it makes up for in physical footprint: Decathlon had 1,749 stores last year, compared with Nike’s 1,032. Its 101,000-strong workforce dwarfs Adidas’s 59,000 headcount. Now it wants the same global profile as its peers. Enter Barbara Martin Coppola: She’s Decathlon’s first female CEO and first external CEO hire, giving a breath of fresh air to the brand. Since joining the French giant in 2022, the Franco- Spanish exec has launched a brand makeover. After nearly five decades of having only a word mark, Decathlon now boasts its first logo—an orbit to compete with Nike’s instantly identifiable swoosh. Its slogan, stores, and digital channels also got a refresh in time for the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympic Games, of which Decathlon was an official partner. It’s not just the brand’s external image that’s getting a revamp: Last year, Decathlon’s executive team reached gender parity for the first time. In 2022, the firm reduced its CO2 output, another first; it slashed CO2 emissions again last year while posting record profit of roughly $1 billion. Martin Coppola’s efforts to do good with the 48-year-old brand have not gone unnoticed: In March, French President Emmanuel Macron awarded her the French National Order of Merit.