IKEA Canada has picked Selwyn Crittendon, a veteran of the retailer’s U.S. operations, as its new CEO and chief sustainability officer.

Crittendon will oversee the retailer’s Canadian operations as it continues multi-million-dollar investments in omnichannel expansions to meet more customers with affordable, accessible and sustainable home furnishings. The company has also prioritized recruiting and retaining talent alongside this growth, which was the subject of a recent campaign showing the benefits of working for a purpose-led employer.

The new role is effective August 1.

Crittendon joins the Canadian organization from the U.S., where he first joined a Virginia store as a customer convenience manager in 2002. Since then, he has held numerous roles throughout the organization, most recently led business development and transformation stateside. country customer experience manager at IKEA US.

“I’m looking forward to learning more about the needs of the many Canadian people and how IKEA can support them with building affordable and sustainable solutions,” Crittendon said in a release. “I’m honoured and energized to join the Canadian organization and look forward to collaborating with our management team and thousands of co-workers nationally on the strategic growth and omnichannel expansion of IKEA Canada.”

IKEA has re-committed to its omnichannel growth plans after store visits increased by 123% and sales by 1.3% in 2022 following the full reopening of its stores. While it recently shut down two of its design-focused concept stores located in malls in Brampton and Misssissauga, it plans to open a new small-footprint location Scarborough Town Centre this summer of 2023, following the example of the IKEA Toronto Downtown that opened last year. It has also continued to open “plan and order” locations to facilitate purchases of larger furniture solutions among customers in markets without a full IKEA location, most recently in Kitchener, Ont. and Brossard, Que.

Crittendon takes over leadership duties from Michael Ward, who had been the company’s Canadian CEO and chief sustainability officer since 2019. In April, Ward took a new role with IKEA franchisee holding company INGKA, leading a cross-functional team working on accelerating omnichannel transformation in the U.S.