Simona Scarpaleggia is the CEO of IKEA Switzerland where she oversees strategy and operations of the retail business including nine stores, e-commerce and distributions with a total yearly turnover of EUR 1 billion. Before joining IKEA Switzerland, she has held various positions in IKEA Italy and other multinational companies as senior executive or HR Director.
She is a passionate campaigner for all issues surrounding women’s empowerment. In 2009, she co-founded «Valore D» in Italy and later «Advance - Women in Swiss Business» in Switzerland. Both organization have a mission to boost gender diversity and to increase the share of mixed-gender management teams for the benefit of our economies.
Since January 2016, Scarpaleggia is co-chairing the UN High Level Panel on Women´s Economic Empowerment. She holds a degree in political science and an MBA from SDA Bocconi School of Management. Simona Scarpaleggia is an Italian citizen, is married and has three children.
