After almost three decades at Electrolux Group spanning a variety of senior leadership roles, Chief Experience Officer Ola Nilsson has decided to pursue opportunities outside the company.
What have been the most important changes you’ve witnessed over the years at Electrolux Group?
Electrolux Group has become a much more consumer insight–led company compared to when I first started in the mid 90’s. Back then, production, cost and efficiency were the primary focus. Now the perspective has shifted to building a closer relationship with our consumers at every touchpoint, to ensure their needs are understood and met with outstanding experiences, both in terms of products, but also in the interactions with our brands. It’s about truly putting their experience first.
This transformation will be a steppingstone for the Electrolux Group to further focus efforts on speeding up innovations and digital experience offerings, making even smarter use of insights and technologies and daring to push the envelope further. When innovation is grounded in research, the future outlook is what guides the creation of a strong innovation roadmap to enable best-in-class user experiences going forward.
How do you feel about your long-standing career at Electrolux Group?
It has truly been a rewarding experience, every step of the way. Electrolux Group has given me the opportunity to work in finance, sales, marketing, product lines, Sector Leadership & Group Management, and most recently to lead the transformation into global Product lines, the creation of the collaborative R&D community and the launch of the Digital Experience Platform organization – under the umbrella of the Consumer Experience organization.
What I will miss most is the people. Their kindness, motivation, expertise, and team spirit have been the most valuable part of my experience at Electrolux Group, and I’m pleased to say I consider many colleagues as personal friends.
What’s next for you?
I will take some time for myself, to reflect and do some traveling with my kids, and then I look forward to seeking a challenging new leadership role in the future. I believe Electrolux has been the best business school ever. I’ve learnt a lot and would like to thank all my colleagues across the company for many years of collaboration and inspiration, and I wish them and Electrolux Group the very best.
“I would like to thank Ola for his many years of service to Electrolux Group, and in particular his leadership in our drive toward delivering an outstanding consumer experience,” says Electrolux Group CEO Jonas Samuelson. “In his recent role, he has helped prepare the Group for the transformational changes in creating global Product Lines with a shared technology and digital strategy and platform. His contribution has been invaluable, and we wish him the best in his future endeavors.”
Ola Nilsson has been with Electrolux since 1994. He's held a wide range of roles within the Group, including Senior Vice President Product Line Laundry for Major Appliances Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), head of Small Appliances in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region and Managing Director for Small Appliances Australia in Melbourne. He has been part of the Group Management team since 2016, first as Sector CEO of Home Care & Small Domestic Appliances and since 2019 as Chief Experience Officer.
