The Voice of Retail Meet Selwyn Crittendon, IKEA Canada's new dynamic and engaging CEO and Chief Sustainability Officer
Meet Selwyn Crittendon, IKEA Canada's new dynamic and engaging CEO and Chief Sustainability Officer. Selwyn shares highlights of his twenty-year journey at IKEA, first impressions of the business environment, and ambitions for growth and diversification for this purpose-led retail brand in Canada for 47 of its 80 years of this global home furnishing and lifestyle powerhouse.
About Selwyn
Selwyn Crittendon is CEO and Chief Sustainability Officer at IKEA Canada, a world-leading home furnishing retailer. For more than 40 years, Canadians have welcomed IKEA into their homes, and have been strong supporters of the IKEA brand, product range and its vision “to create a better everyday life for the many people”. Selwyn joined IKEA in 2002 at the IKEA Woodbridge, VA store as the Customer Convenience Manager. During the last 20 years, Selwyn has held numerous roles in the organization from driving an excellent customer experience to developing and strengthening leaders.
Today, Selwyn leads the ongoing transformation of the Canadian business to create a more affordable, accessible, convenient, and sustainable shopping experience for the IKEA customer and more importantly, a rewarding place to work for IKEA co-workers nationally. Throughout this omnichannel, people-focused transformation, IKEA continues to explore new store formats, enhance the in-store experience, invest in new digital experiences, improve its service offer, and optimize its distribution networks.
Selwyn's passion for people, transformation, and change, fuels his focus on strategic growth that will propel IKEA Canada for many years to come.
An avid foodie and father of two, Selwyn has settled with his family in Oakville, ON.
Follow Selwyn on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/selwyn-crittendon-ab4255109/
Discover more about IKEA Canada at IKEA.ca/Reports
About our Sustainability strategy here.
And on social here:
https://instagram.com/ikeacanada/
https://www.facebook.com/IKEACanada
https://www.tiktok.com/@ikeacanada
https://www.pinterest.ca/ikeacanada/
About Michael
Michael is the Founder & President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc. and a Senior Advisor to Retail Council of Canada and the Bank of Canada as part of his advisory and consulting practice. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, Today's Shopping Choice and Pandora Jewellery.
Michael has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. He has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions with C-level executives and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels. ReThink Retail has added Michael to their prestigious Top Global Retail Influencers list for 2023 for the third year in a row.
Michael is also the president of Maven Media, producing a network of leading trade podcasts, including Canada's top retail industry podcast_,_ The Voice of Retail. He produces and co-hosts Remarkable Retail with best-selling author Steve Dennis, now ranked one of the top retail podcasts in the world.
Based in San Francisco, Global eCommerce Leaders podcast explores global cross-border issues and opportunities for eCommerce brands and retailers.
Last but not least, Michael is the producer and host of the "Last Request Barbeque" channel on YouTube, where he cooks meals to die for - and collaborates with top brands as a food and product influencer across North America.
Michael LeBlanc is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and now, media entrepreneur. He has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career.
Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels, most recently on the main stage in Toronto at Retail Council of Canada’s Retail Marketing conference with leaders from Walmart & Google. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, CanWest Media, Pandora Jewellery, The Shopping Channel and Retail Council of Canada to his advisory, speaking and media practice.
Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including the award-winning No.1 independent retail industry podcast in America, Remarkable Retail with his partner, Dallas-based best-selling author Steve Dennis; Canada's top retail industry podcast The Voice of Retail and Canada's top food industry and one of the top Canadian-produced management independent podcasts in the country, The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois from Dalhousie University in Halifax.
Rethink Retail has recognized Michael as one of the top global retail experts for the fifth year in a row, the National Retail Federation has designated Michael as on their Top Retail Voices for 2025, Thinkers 360 has named him on of the Top 50 global thought leaders in retail, RTIH has named him a top 100 global though leader in retail technology and Coresight Research has named Michael a Retail AI Influencer. If you are a BBQ fan, you can tune into Michael’s cooking show, Last Request BBQ, on YouTube, Instagram, X and yes, TikTok.
Michael is available for keynote presentations helping retailers, brands and retail industry insiders explaining the current state and future of the retail industry in North America and around the world.