After nearly a decade, Ingka Group CEO to exit

Dive Brief:

Ingka Group, the largest franchisee of Ikea, on Wednesday named Juvencio Maeztu as its CEO and president, succeeding Jesper Brodin, who is stepping down from the role after eight years.
Maeztu has spent 25 years at Ikea in various roles, including as the deputy CEO and CFO of Ingka Group and CEO of Ikea India, according to his LinkedIn profile. He started out as an Ikea store manager in Spain.
Maeztu will step into his new role by Nov. 5, while Brodin will remain with the company until the end of February, after which he will serve as a senior adviser to Ikea Foundation.

Dive Insight:

After nearly a decade, Ingka Group is ushering in new leadership.

“Over the last eight years Jesper has led the company through unprecedented times with a remarkable contribution, transforming Ikea into an omnichannel retailer while accelerating efforts and truly integrating sustainability into the business,” Lars-Johan Jarnheimer, chairman of Ingka Holding B.V., said in a statement. “Under Jesper’s leadership, Ikea has expanded into new markets and cities with a variety of formats – meeting the changing needs of our customers.”

In his own words, Brodin — who spent three decades at Ikea — said his departure comes at “a good time” and expressed confidence in Maeztu taking the reins in the next few months.

Maeztu’s “values-based leadership and deep commitment to business, people and planet has always inspired me and us and I know he will lead with purpose at heart,” Brodin said in a LinkedIn post.

Ikea in 2023 announced plans to invest $2.2 billion over the next three years to fuel its U.S. growth, including opening new locations and strengthening its fulfillment network. That came on top of a previous investment from Ingka Group in 2022 to invest over 3 billion euros into new and existing locations in the U.S., France, Finland, Canada, Germany and Spain.

In February, the retailer said it planned to open eight new stores this spring and summer — seven of which feature “Plan & Order points with Pickup”. Last summer, Ingka Group invested in real estate in New York City as part of its strategy to enter more urban markets.

And Ikea’s ambitions extend beyond its own stores: Late last month, the retailer and Best Buy announced a partnership in which the home goods retailer would open shop-in-shops within select Best Buy stores.