"the ultimate breakthrough." Personal life Dassler was married to Käthe until his death from heart failure in 1978. They had 5 children. In 1973, their son Horst Dassler founded Arena, a producer of swimming equipment. Käthe Dassler died on 31 December 1984. Posthumous After Adolf Dassler's death, his son Horst and his wife, Käthe, took over the management. Horst died on 11 April 1987. Adidas was transformed into a private limited company in 1989, but remained family property until its IPO in 1995. The last of the family members who worked for Adidas was Frank Dassler (the grandson of Rudolf), head of the legal department since 2004, who resigned in January 2018. In 2006, a sculpture of Dassler was unveiled in the Adi Dassler Stadium in Herzogenaurach. It was created by the artist Josef Tabachnyk. See also Dassler brothers feud German inventors and discoverers References Sources External links Biographie:Adidas ADOLF DASSLER: THE CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE LEADER BEHIND ADIDAS| Adidas Blog 1900 births 1978 deaths Adolf People from Herzogenaurach German company founders 20th-century German businesspeople 20th-century German inventors Shoe designers German military personnel of World War II Nazi Party members People from the Kingdom of Bavaria Adidas people Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany German military personnel of World War I National Socialist Motor Corps members