Inter Ikea appoints new CEO

Inter Ikea has announced that Torbjörn Lööf, who has been the company’s CEO for the past seven years, is to step down from his role and will be replaced by Jon Abrahamsson Ring.

To ensure a “good handover”, Ikea said Ring, who is a former assistant to Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad, will take up the position of group deputy CEO reporting to Lööf on the 1 March.

He will then become the head of the company that controls Ikea’s intellectual property and supply chain fully on 1 September.

Lööf joined Ikea in 1989, and he has since held various leadership roles throughout the business. Before his present position, he led the development of the firms offer and its supply chain as the managing director at Ikea of Sweden AB. He became CEO of Inter IKEA in 2013.

Ikea has expanded to more than 15 new markets during Lööf’s leadership and will soon enter South America, with the first store expected to open in Chile in 2021.

Lööf said: “I have had more than 30 fantastic years with Ikea and the privilege to have many exciting assignments with the opportunity to live in different countries. Ikea has had a remarkable development during these years and it has been a big inspiration for me to be part of this journey.

“I now have taken the decision to end my current assignment and time with Ikea, I do it with a lot of proudness of what we together have achieved. I will always carry with me the memories from all the wonderful meetings with Ikea colleagues and partners from around the world. It is all the people working at Ikea that makes us unique.”

Ring started his career as a trainee at Ikea Örebro in 1998 after completing his Master’s Degree in Business Administration at Umeå University. A year later he moved to Canada, where he worked for four years. He then spent four years as assistant to Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad before becoming deputy retail manager for Ikea China.

In 2008 he left the business to become CEO of the fashion brand Filippa K and – later – CEO of gardening brand Plantagen. He re-joined Ikea when he started working for Inter Ikea Systems in 2017.

Ring said: ”Ikea is in my heart and I truly believe in our vision to create a better everyday life for the many. Ikea is on a great journey, which is only in the beginning, and we will continue to stay true to who we are and what makes us unique: our culture and values, our vision and our business idea.

“And we must remain curious about our customers’ needs and dreams and their lives at home. I am humbled by this opportunity, but also very proud and happy. I want to thank Torbjörn for his generous guidance and support, and Anders and the board for their trust in me.”