In 1991 Jan started his adidas career as PR manager. From 2000 to 2024 he led adidas Corporate Communication as Chief Corporate Communication Officer. Together with an international team of 90 people he oversaw adidas’s global internal and external communication including financial communication, crisis communication and brand PR. He was member of the adidas core leadership team.
Jan represented adidas at major sporting events such as the Olympic Games and the World Cup and European Championships in football. Jan and his team received numerous awards for communications achievements, including German Image Award, German PR Award and Best Company Spokesperson of the Year. Jan was also member of PRovoke Media's Influence 100 that recognizes the 100 most important and influential in-house communicators from around the world.
Motto: Nothing feels better than winning as a team.
Jan was born in Hamburg, Germany, in 1966. A journalism apprentice from 1987 to 1989, he worked as freelancer and editor for various German newspapers. He began studying sport, business and law at University of Bayreuth in 1989, interrupted his studies in 1991 to work for adidas, and completed his studies in 2025 with an MBA in sports management at University of Bayreuth. He attended several courses at Harvard Business School.
Jan is married, has two adult daughters and lives with his wife near Nuremberg, Germany. Through the private foundation "Familie-Runau-Stiftung" his family supports underprivileged children through sports and education.
Jan is a committed athlete that has completed an Iron Man and Challenge Roth, ran several major marathons and climbs alpine passes by bike. Jan is also a certified tennis and padel teacher.

• City of Munich and Bavaria’s bid to host Olympic and Paralympic Games for Germany
• Chairman of the Advisory Board of Deutsche Sport Markeing, the sponsorship and marketing agency of Germany’s sport federation DOSB and Germany’s paralympics federation DBS
• Marketing of Germany’s multi-sport event „Die Finals“
• Workshops on Corporate Communication (eg. at ProCredit Academy)
• Presentations about communication, leadership and personal branding (e.g. at University of Bayreuth, University of Applied Science Ansbach)
• Hosting panel discussions and events (e.g. Parliamentary Evening of Bavarian Sport in Berlin)