Håkan Nordkvist is the Former Head of Sustainability Innovation for the IKEA Group. An exceptionally talented leader with a human-centric vision, he is known for his innovative solutions and has played an integral role in developing many of IKEA’s sustainability services. Talented and courageous, Håkan is gifted at setting bold futuristic goals and ambitions and then successfully implementing those goals through innovative initiatives, road maps and creative businesses and solutions for a better future.
Holding an MSc in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Lulea Tekniska, Håkan joined IKEA as a Quality Manager in 2001. Over the course of his career, he has been heavily involved in many innovative projects for IKEA. Leading the sustainability and innovation team for 11 years, Håkan combined cutting-edge innovation with sustainability to build new businesses for IKEA. His team was responsible for building IKEA’s clean energy service which now operates in 13 countries around the globe. Today it is one of the largest clean energy businesses.
Another project Håkan directed was food innovation. He introduced plant-based protein and new dishes to the IKEA restaurant and utilised urban/vertical farming to locally produce lettuce and herbs, in addition to creating efficient food waste initiatives. Håkan played a fundamental role in implementing IKEA’s circular business agenda. This involved developing new innovative business models like Furniture as A Service, IKEA Second Hand and IKEA Take Back and Repair. This was followed by a local production set-up with 3D printing, collaborative robotics, and generative design.
Outside IKEA, Håkan is one of the founders and chairman of Launch Nordic, a creative platform which was created with Nike, NASA, USAID and Novozymes. Moreover, Håkan served on the board of BoKlok a company which specialises in building affordable sustainable housing. As a speaker, Håkan is highly articulate on the topics of innovation, sustainability, intrepreneurship, circularity and leadership.
How to hire Håkan Nordkvist
Contact the Champions Speakers Agency to provisionally enquire about hiring Håkan Nordkvist for your next event, today. To get in touch, simply call an official booking agent on 0207 1010 553 or email us at [email protected] for more information.
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Hakan Nordkvist's official speaking topics:
Sustainability
Innovation
Intrepreneurship
Circularity
Leadership
On the fourth day your session entitled ‘delivering sustainable lifestyles for a world of 9 billion people’ was also well received, scoring 84%. For the delegates, these case study sessions were extremely impactful in seeing some of the theory in real life practical examples for leaders. Please see below for some comments shared by the delegation: Really like the sharing from corporates' point of view on how they implement sustainability in their business It was really useful to hear from people in industry today about what they are doing and how they are approaching things. Really great to talk about solutions and plans especially with focus on doing rather than strategy. Wow - probably the most enjoyable and impactful day of the week. - Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership.
