Maties Hockey legend earning her stripes at adidas
What started as a sponsorship when she was still a student-athlete became a leading position as Senior Brand Director at adidas South Africa for Maties Hockey legend Kate Woods (previously known as Hector).
Kate earned her BA in Sports Science with Business Management at Stellenbosch University while playing over a hundred matches for Maties.
Looking back on her time spent in Matieland, Kate can’t help but smile.
“Being a Matie was simply the best ever. I tell my boys–all three of them-that if I wish one thing for them, it’s to go to Stellenbosch University. It was some of the best years of my life, playing competitive sport, meeting great friends, making incredible memories, and cycling around campus. I just loved every minute of my time in Stellenbosch. I also met my husband, Duncan Woods, in my time at Maties!”
Duncan, a Maties legend himself, played water polo for Maties and South Africa.
Kate was awarded Maties Sportswoman of the Year in 2005 and 2007, and Duncan was awarded Maties Sportsman of the Year in 2004.
Kate’s journey with adidas started in 2004. “It was at the 2004 Olympic Games, where adidas was the team’s sponsor, that the brand approached me to sponsor me as an individual athlete. At that moment, my love affair with the 3 Stripes began and from then onwards, it will always be 3 stripes.”
Kate started her adidas office journey in August 2007 as a Junior Category Manager. She was responsible for selecting the ranges for South Africa for a few smaller categories. In 2012, she was leading the Sports Performance Division. In 2016, the Woods family took a leap of faith and relocated to the adidas offices in Dubai. Here, Kate was the Director of the Running Business Unit for Emerging Markets. Shortly after, she moved with her family to the adidas Global Headquarters in Herzogenaurach, Germany, as Senior Director of the Running Business Unit for Europe.
Employing over 36,000 people globally, more than 6,000 of them at the adidas headquarters in Herzogenaurach, Kate truly stepped out of her comfort zone. She took on huge responsibilities and was exposed to various Markets and Cultures, and she was able to lean on her years of competitive sport experience to help her rise to the occasion.
South Africa kept calling the Woods family back home, though. Kate, Duncan and their three boys returned to their home country in 2019.
“It’s an incredible honour to step into this role, and I look forward to building on our strong foundation, driving inclusivity in sport, and expanding our impact in the region,” Kate said shortly after her appointment as Senior Brand Director at adidas South Africa.
Before she became a leader in adidas’s offices, Kate dominated the astroturf of not only Maties but also those across the world. She played in three Olympics—Athens (2004), Beijing (2008), and London (2012)—and various other international tournaments, including the World Cup, Commonwealth Games, and All Africa Games. She earned more than 150 caps for her country.
She is still actively involved with the sport she loves. In 2024, she captained South Africa’s Over-35 Women’s Hockey Team to victory at the Masters Hockey World Cup in Cape Town.