Global furniture and home goods retailer IKEA has appointed David McCabe as Country Retail Manager and Chief Sustainability Officer for the UK and Ireland, with the role taking effect on 1 July 2026.

As reported by Retail Times, McCabe joins from his current position as Global Fulfilment and Core Services Manager for Ingka Group, where he leads IKEA's global fulfilment team. He succeeds Peter Jelkeby, who has transitioned to lead IKEA Germany following a period of growth and expansion across the UK and Ireland business.

McCabe began his IKEA career in 1996 at the IKEA Lakeside store in the UK, accumulating three decades of experience across leadership roles in North America and Europe spanning expansion, commercial operations, logistics, innovation, and retail management. He returned to the UK and Ireland as commercial manager in 2019, steering the business through the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, before serving four years as Country Retail Manager and CSO for IKEA's Czechia, Hungary, and Slovakia cluster.

McCabe said: "We have a great opportunity to shape the future of IKEA in the UK and Ireland, as we continue to strengthen our focus on becoming even more accessible, affordable and sustainable for our customers."

His appointment comes as IKEA accelerates its physical presence across the region. Since the start of 2025, the company has opened nine new locations, including city centre stores on London's Oxford Street and in Brighton, Plan and Order Points in Hull, Waterford, York, and Dundee, and three new small-format stores in Harlow, Norwich, and Chester.

The dual retail and sustainability remit of the role reflects IKEA's broader strategy of embedding environmental accountability directly into senior commercial leadership.

Read the full details of David McCabe's appointment and IKEA's UK and Ireland expansion in the complete story.