Sporting life

When German sporting goods giant Adidas sought to reinvigorate its U.S. brand in 1993, Soosie Lazenby was one of the first marketing executives it hired.

A Clearwater native, Lazenby was working at IMG Academy, the Bradenton-based sports behemoth. She traveled the country, from Chicago to Charlotte, putting on tennis tournaments. Adidas, though, was the sports business opportunity of a lifetime.

Lazenby spent six years with Adidas. Sales at the company soared during that time, from $150 million in 1993 to $1.7 billion in 1999. The company gave all the executives special champagne bottles to commemorate the day it surpassed $1 billion.