On a recent Norges Bank Investment Management podcast, Adidas CEO Bjorn Gulden appeared to extend an olive branch to “Ye,” formerly Kanye West. Gulden, who previously served as Puma’s CEO, took the helm at Adidas on Jan. 1. His leadership followed the termination of the German sportswear brand’s relationship with Ye last fall over anti-Semitic comments.

Gulden told the “In Good Company” podcast that Ye’s comments, such as “Death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE,” were “Very unfortunate, because I don’t think he meant what he said, and I don’t think he’s a bad person. It just came across that way.”

The episode, titled “Bjørn Gulden CEO of Adidas: shoes, leadership, and fast decisions,” was aired on Sept. 13, and the CEO praised Ye as “one of the most creative people in the world … both in music and what I will call street culture”