Rami Jensen (pictured) has been appointed president and CEO of JYSK – the third person to take the roles in JYSK’s 44-year history.
Rami officially joined JYSK a year ago as deputy president and CEO, and now assumes overall responsibility for more than 3300 stores in 48 countries, and more than 30,000 employees. He replaces Jan Bøgh, with whom he has worked closely during the past year to ensure a smooth handover. Rami’s executive management team is therefore already in place.
“I look very much forward to stepping fully into the role as president and CEO of JYSK," says Rami. "JYSK is a company that has continuously delivered record results and growth since the company was founded in 1979 by Lars Larsen and later with Jan Bøgh as president and CEO. It is quite the task to try to match it, but I am certain that if we stay true to the JYSK core values, we will be able to continue to grow and develop the company."
Rami has spent most of his career at JYSK. He first joined JYSK at the age of 20 when he became an apprentice in the store in Esbjerg, Denmark, in 1994, and worked his way up through the company to become part of the executive management team as executive VP of business development. In 2018, he temporarily left JYSK to become CEO of ILVA, the Lars Larsen Group-owned retail company, before returning to JYSK in 2022.
“JYSK has continuously offered me opportunities to develop personally and grow my career within the company. I am excited about what lies ahead and how we as a team at JYSK will create great results together for the company and our customers,” he adds.
JYSK has also appointed Signe Lind Jacobsen as CFO. As a trained accountant with over 20 years' experience in finance, Signe's background includes work with the likes of Bestseller, Rema 1000, Salling Group, and most recently Danish Crown, where she held the title of senior VP.
"I really like the day-to-day part of retail, because you can basically see the numbers for yesterday, do something today and already see the results tomorrow," she says. "I've really been looking forward to working on getting even closer to the customers.
"There is no doubt that the many skilled employees in the finance department have a good handle on the business. This is not least thanks to Henrik Naundrup (former CFO). One of the things I expect to be able to contribute is to put even more power into how finance can help the business make the right decisions. We have a very, very large amount of data that can undoubtedly help us in this direction."
In addition to the financial responsibility, Signe will be responsible for the sustainability department. She says: "Sustainability is of particular interest to me because it is an area that affects all of us, and it requires a data discipline to work with. Although sustainability lives in finance, we need more skills around the company to move closer to the goal."
Indeed, the global retailer has committed to the internationally recognised Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) to contribute to limiting global warming. By signing up to SBTi, JYSK is committed to reducing emissions within its own operations and taking responsibility for the end-to-end emissions from the products sold in its stores.
