Decathlon taps IKEA digital chief as new CEO

French sporting retail group Decathlon has named Barbara Martin Coppola as its new CEO, effective mid-March.

Coppola is a French and Spanish binational with over 22 years of experience at some of the world’s biggest digital and tech businesses, having held senior positions at the likes of Google, YouTube and Samsung.

She joins from Swedish furniture and homeware giant IKEA, where she has been chief digital officer since 2018.

Coppola to take on top job from mid-March

“I am excited to join a company that is dear to me,” Coppola said in a statement.

“I look forward to accelerating Decathlon’s global impact making sport accessible to millions of people. Decathlon’ products and services improve health and well-being for many and it will be an honour to contribute to this beautiful mission,” she said.

Coppola succeeds Michel Aballea, who has been at the helm of Decathlon since 2015.

Chair Fabien Derville commented: “The current good health of Decathlon and our strong ambitions encourage us to accelerate the transformation of our business model to better assert our position as a world leader in sport.

“We are convinced that Barbara will be able to lead this transformation while respecting our values.”