Walter Kadnar (1963) is the new CEO and CSO of IKEA Netherlands. The Austrian Kadnar started his career in 1988 at IKEA and has since held various positions. Currently, Kadnar is CEO and CSO of IKEA Germany. He will start his new role in the Netherlands on 1 September.
© IKEA Netherlands
Kadnar started his career at IKEA Austria in 1988 as a management trainee. He then held various roles in different stores. He then went abroad, where he worked as Store Manager in Paris (2004), Deputy CEO in Germany (2007), CEO in Poland (2010), Russia (2013) and France (2017) and currently as CEO and CSO in Germany (since 2022).
As of September 1, Kadnar will be at the helm of IKEA Netherlands, where he will manage 6,000 employees. He will mainly focus on the further growth of the Swedish store in the Netherlands and making the stores and operations more sustainable. In addition, his focus will be on improving shopping convenience by further developing the omnichannel strategy and increasing accessibility with existing and new shopping channels.
Walter Kadnar: 'With 47 years of IKEA in the Netherlands, I feel honored to join the Dutch team. I feel connected to the Dutch entrepreneurial spirit and discovering different cultures and markets appeals to me enormously. That is why I am looking forward to working in this role in the Netherlands. IKEA is always about people and their ideas. My first priority is to meet as many colleagues as possible, because I am convinced that leadership means empowering others to grow.'
Kadnar succeeds Alessandra Zini, who passed away in January 2025 to the great sorrow of her colleagues. Zini held the position of CEO and CSO of IKEA Netherlands for a year and a half and worked at Ingka Group for more than 24 years. Since January, current CFO Sandra Schouten has been taking over the position on an interim basis; It will continue to do so until 1 September.
More information:
IKEA Netherlands
www.ikea.com