Ellen Svanström appointed new CEO of growth company Extenda

Over the past 30 years, the Swedish company Extenda has build up a market leading position in in-store retail SW in the Nordic region. With Extenda’s international expansion now intensifying, the company has recruited Ellen Svanström as the new CEO, who will assume her new position on April 1, 2013.

Ellen joins the company from IBM, where she was part of the Swedish management team. Today, Extenda has a turnover of approximately SEK 200 million.

“Our growing international expansion requires a CEO with international experience and frontline expertise in retail. Going forward our focus will be on securing international growth as well as maintaining a high level of quality and consistency for existing customers,” said Peter Carlman, founder and current CEO of Extenda. “Ellen’s professional background and drive is tailor-made for the opportunities we are facing.”

“Naturally, this is a dream job for me and I look forward to working with the company’s international expansion, while at the same time strengthening our position in our home market,” said Ellen Svanström.

Ellen Svanström is 39 years old and has held several senior positions at IBM both in Sweden and globally, most recently as head of IBM’s division for Retail, Communication and Media, where she was a part of the Swedish management team. She began her extensive career at the clothing company Gant. Ellen has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration and an MBA, and completed the Ruter Dam Leadership Program in 2011.

“Extenda’s customers are market leaders in their industries, placing high demands on stable and flexible solutions that can be integrated with multiple sales channels. This is an area in which we will continue to lead development,” Ellen continued.

“Thanks to Peter’s work, we have a solid foundation on which to build further and going forward he will now be able to put his full focus on his new role as head of business development. Our goal is to establish Extenda as one of the top five suppliers of POS (Point of Sale) in the world. And we are delighted that Ellen has chosen Extenda,” said Per Uebel, Chairman of Extenda. 

For more information please contact Per Uebel at +46(0) 70 516 42 56 or Peter Carlman +46 (0) 70 510 1952