Nabeela Ixtabalan

Early life

Not a lot is publicly known about the early life of Nabeela Ixtabalan. She is a Muslim and a mother to two children.

Nabeela holds a dual degree in Marketing and Supply Chain Management and Distribution from Indiana University and a Master’s in Industrial and Organizational Behavior and Design from the University of Texas. Additionally, she is a certified executive coach through the International Coaching Federation and has earned a Six Sigma Green Belt certification.

Career

After graduation, she began working at Starbucks as a barista from December 2000 to February 2001. She was then promoted to store manager, a position she held until August 2003. From there, she became Starbucks District Manager, a position she held until June 2007. She then became a Talent Acquisition Manager from February 2007 until July 2008.

She then joined the team at IKEA, first as a Human Resource Manager, then as Store Manager and Deputy Store Manager. She was promoted to Country People and Culture Manager (CHRO) and Vice President of KIEA US from June 2015 to January 2018.

In 2018, she moved to IKEA Canada to take on the role of VP and Deputy Retail Manager. In this role, she reported to the President/CEO, a member of the executive team, was accountable for retail operations, people and culture, and corporate social responsibility departments for one of IKEA’s Top 8 countries. She led operations of over $2.5 billion and a staff of over 6.5 thousand coworkers.

Nabeela became the Global Head of Retail Transformation from September of 2018 until December 2019. This is a position that required her to move to Sweden. She moved back to Canada after that and is also a member of the Board of Directors for several organizations.

She joined the Board of Directors for TaskRabbit in 2017. She was a Member of the Board of Advisors for Future Skills Centre from December 2019 to December 2022. And a Member of the Board of Directors for Miracle Foundation from November 2019 to current.

In her current position with Walmart Canada, Nabeela oversees the daily operations and performance of over 400 stores, serving over 1.5 million customers across the country.

She joined Walmart in 2020 as the Executive Vice President of People and Corporate Affairs, leading one of Canada’s largest employers with a team of more than 100,000 associates. Nabeela’s focus is on promoting well-being, diversity and inclusion, developing future capabilities, and turning Walmart into a regenerative company.

Recently, Nabeela was honored as one of The Globe and Mail’s Report on Business’ Top Executives of 2022.

Throughout her career, she has accumulated nearly 20 years of leadership and business development experience with three of the world’s most renowned brands: Walmart, IKEA, and Starbucks Coffee in North America, Europe, and Canada.

Prior to her current role, Nabeela was the Head of Digital Transformation at Ingka, where she spearheaded IKEA’s digital and retail transformation globally in 41 countries.

Nabeela is particularly passionate about enterprise-wide transformations, the future of work, change management, diversity and inclusion, and organizational design. In 2017, she was appointed to the Board of Directors of TaskRabbit, a leading gig economy platform that has transformed digital two-sided marketplaces. In 2019, she became a Board Advisor for the Future Skills Centre of Canada, a national initiative focused on skill development and employment training to support Canadians in adapting to the changing economy.

Additionally, Nabeela serves as a board member for the Miracle Foundation, a US and India-based organization with the goal of ending the suffering of orphaned children and providing a loving home for every single orphaned child in the world.

Some of her proudest achievements include launching a highly-regarded parental leave benefit in the US, creating the first retail industry diversity and inclusion network, and consistently improving employment standards with the implementation of a living wage and strategic total rewards and investments. These efforts have been recognized by well-known companies such as Fortune and Glassdoor.

Net Worth

Nabeela Ixtabalan’s exact net worth is not publicly known.

Achievement

Nabeela Ixtabalan is passionate about enterprise-wide transformations, the future of work, change management, diversity and inclusion, and organizational design, and her actions within the roles she has held in retail showcase this.

Some of her honors and awards include:

• Certificate of Congressional Recognition Certificate of Congressional Recognition

Issued by Sheila Jackson Lee, Member of Congress, November 2013

• Senate Proclamation No. 1501

Issued by The Senate of the State of Texas, Novemebr 2013

• Texas Executive Women on Move (2013)

Since 1985 Texas Executive Women(TEW) has recognized 10 influential women who are making moves and empowering others in the Houston Community with their Women on the Move(WOM) annual luncheon.

• 100 Best Companies to Work For (IKEA US)100 Best Companies to Work For (IKEA US)

Issued by Fortune

• Best Companies for Vacation and Paid Time Off (IKEA US) Best Companies for Vacation and Paid Time Off (IKEA US)

Issued by Glassdoor

• Top 50 Companies that Care List (IKEA US) Top 50 Companies that Care List (IKEA US)

Issued by People Magazine

• Top Companies for Benefits & Perks (IKEA US) Top Companies for Benefits & Perks (IKEA US)

Issued by Glassdoor