Barbara Martin Coppola — CEO
I am a global CEO and board leader with a 25-year career transforming some of the world’s most iconic, values-driven brands across retail, consumer, technology, and digital. My work sits at the intersection of business performance, innovation, and humanity, turning companies into agile, customer-centric organizations built for the future. At IKEA, as Chief Digital Officer and Group Executive Committee member, I helped lead one of the largest transformations in retail. We took online revenue from €2B to €12B, scaled digital across 30+ markets, and built a modern omnichannel model while preserving the soul of the brand. At Decathlon, I became the company’s first female and external CEO and led a massive strategic shift toward customer experience, digital, sustainability, and circular business models. We modernized the brand portfolio, elevating product innovation, simplifying global operations, and putting the customer back at the center. My earlier career spans leadership roles at Google, YouTube, Samsung, Grubhub and Texas Instruments, giving me deep experience in how technology, culture, and strategy come together to create durable growth. I believe the next era of business belongs to leaders who combine vision + courage + humanity, who can run a P&L at scale, build high-performing teams, and mobilize organizations around a mission that matters. Today, I serve on corporate boards and advise companies, and I am exploring my next CEO role in consumer, retail, wellness, tech-enabled services, or design-driven and product global brands.
Stackforce AI infers this person is a leader in consumer and retail transformation with a strong digital focus.
Location: Lille, Hauts-de-France, France
Experience: 25 yrs 7 mos
Career Highlights
- Transformed IKEA's digital revenue from €2B to €12B.
- First female CEO at Decathlon, leading strategic shifts.
- 25 years of experience in global brand transformation.
Work Experience
Patagonia
Board Member (4 mos)
Boston Consulting Group (BCG)
Senior Advisor (7 mos)
INSEAD
Board Member (2 yrs 8 mos)
Decathlon
Chief Executive Officer (3 yrs 1 mo)
Geomagical Labs
Chair of the Board (1 yr 11 mos)
IKEA
Chief Digital Officer (3 yrs 11 mos)
WeddingWire, the Knot Worldwide
Board Director (2 yrs 6 mos)
GrubHub
Chief Marketing Officer - Growth leadership (2 yrs 11 mos)
Google Express - Head of Growth (1 yr 3 mos)
YouTube - Global Head of Product Marketing (2 yrs)
Chromecast and Google TV - Global Head (1 yr 9 mos)
Google France - Director (3 yrs 4 mos)
Samsung Electronics, Global Marketing Organization
Business Strategy Manager (2 yrs 6 mos)
Texas Instruments
Business Development Manager (5 yrs)
Education
MBA at INSEAD
Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School
MS at Télécom Paris
MS at Universidad Politécnica de Madrid