Inter IKEA Group today announces two new members of its Group Management Team, with Rob Kelly joining as Retail Concept Manager and Pontus Erntell joining as Chief Financial Officer (CFO), both effective 1 September 2026. Together, they will support the Group’s ambition to grow IKEA, reduce prices for customers, and reach more of the many people.
About 25 years ago, IKEA, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), and the Sabah Foundation began restoring a degraded rainforest in Borneo through the Sow a Seed initiative. Since then, 18,500 hectares have been restored and protected. Building on evidence that rainforests can be regenerated, today IKEA and its partners launch the next phase, the Living Rainforest Restoration Lab, shifting the focus from on-site restoration to research and knowledge sharing to support global biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation.
Rob Kelly joins Inter IKEA Group from IKEA Canada, where he has served as Commercial Manager. He brings more than 30 years of IKEA experience and has held leadership positions across the IKEA value chain. He succeeds Dennis Balslev, who will retire in December.
In his role as Retail Concept Manager, Rob will lead the work to safeguard, develop and strengthen the IKEA Concept and IKEA Brand across existing and new markets. This includes setting the strategic direction for the future of IKEA retail – working closely with franchisees and retailers to support growth and create seamless omnichannel customer experiences.
“Rob brings deep retail experience, strong commercial understanding and a genuine connection to the IKEA values. He understands how customers live, shop and interact with IKEA today, and he knows our value chain well. I am very happy to welcome Rob to Inter IKEA Group and to the management team. I also want to thank Dennis for his leadership, commitment, and everything he’s given to IKEA over 47 years,” says Jakub Jankowski, CEO of Inter IKEA Group.
Pontus Erntell joins Inter IKEA Group from IKEA China, where he currently serves as Country Retail Manager and Chief Sustainability Officer. Prior to that, he held several senior Business Navigation and retail leadership positions across IKEA globally.
As Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Pontus will oversee Inter IKEA Group's financial management, business performance, risk and governance – strengthening the company's long-term financial direction. Pontus will also be a member of the Inter IKEA Holding B.V. Management Board. He takes over from Henrik Elm, who has been both Operations Manager and CFO since 2024.
A standalone CFO role will give Inter IKEA Group stronger focus and capacity in day-to-day financial execution and long-term financial direction. It will also allow Henrik to focus on IKEA operations at a critical time. Henrik will continue as a member of the Inter IKEA Holding B.V. Management Board.
“Pontus combines strong financial expertise with broad business leadership experience. He understands the full IKEA value chain and has demonstrated an ability to lead through complexity while staying close to the business. These are important strengths as we continue to improve performance and create the conditions for sustainable growth,” says Jakub Jankowski.
For an overview of the full Inter IKEA Group management team, visit: https://www.inter.ikea.com/en/this-is-inter-ikea-group/management-structure
