The French sporting goods retailer Decathlon is getting a new boss. On Monday, the company announced that Barbara Martin Coppola will take over as CEO in March. The 45-year-old will then succeed Michel Aballea, who has headed the group since 2018.
In a career spanning more than twenty years, Martin Coppola has “gained management experience and great expertise in the digital sector at various global companies,” said Decathlon. Most recently, she worked as Chief Digital Officer at the Swedish furniture store Ikea, where, according to her future employer, she “successfully managed the digital transformation and the omnichannel strategy”. Before that, she held management roles in Europe, the USA and Asia at well-known companies such as Google, YouTube, Samsung and Texas Instruments.
Chairman of the Supervisory Board Fabien Derville justified the personnel decision: “Decathlon’s current good condition and our great ambitions have prompted us to accelerate the transformation of our business model in order to further strengthen our leading global position in sport,” he said in a statement. “We are confident that Barbara will be able to execute this transformation while respecting our team and our values.”
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