VOLVO Cars has appointed Jim Rowan as its CEO and president, replacing Håkan Samuelsson who first joined Volvo Cars as a member of the board in 2010 and has held the role of CEO and president since October 2012.

Mr Samuelsson will continue as the chair of Polestar Automotive Holding UK Limited to see the Polestar brand through the de-SPAC (Special Purchase Acquisition Company) process, as it is expected to list on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the ticker symbol PSNY later this year.

Born and raised in Glasgow, Mr Rowan is a seasoned executive with a wealth of experience from the consumer electronics and technology industry.

He has also worked extensively with digitalisation, disruption, innovation, engineering and supply chains, which Volvo said will be valuable for the future of the car-maker to realise its strategic ambitions.

Mr Rowan was previously with California-based temperature-adjustable drinkware and dishware manufacturer, Ember Technologies as an investor, board member and its CEO since February 2021.

He was CEO of the Dyson Group between 2017-2020 and as COO from 2012-2017, during which time he accelerated the company’s e-commerce strategy, launched new innovative products, and grew its market share worldwide.

Prior to Dyson, he was the COO of BlackBerry. He is currently a senior advisor to the global investment firm KKR and a member of the shareholders’ committee of Henkel AG, a German technology and consumer goods company, which operates worldwide.

Mr Rowan described his appointment to Volvo as a “new chapter” in his life that he was  “incredibly excited about”.

“To be able to join Volvo Cars at this moment in time, in the middle of a transformation, is really inspiring,” he said.

“So when people ask me, ‘Why did you join Volvo?’, that’s my answer. I’m just inspired and humbled by the opportunity to build on the many strengths of Volvo Cars and continue to develop it into a company that is a leader in next-gen mobility and to take it to new heights.”

Volvo Cars chair Eric Li said: “I am very pleased to welcome Jim Rowan as the new CEO of Volvo Cars. Volvo Cars is going through a rapid transformation of digitalisation which is why we wanted to bring in someone with global CEO experience from outside the automotive industry.

“Jim is the right person to accelerate Volvo Cars into the future – enabling it to become the fastest transformer in its field and a fully electric company with millions of direct consumer relationships.

“I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank Håkan Samuelsson for his commitment and determination over the past 10 years at Volvo Cars. Håkan has, together with his management team, created a renewed and strong product line, re-established Volvo as a premium brand that is well placed for the future, and enabled the successful listing of Volvo Cars.”

By Neil Dowling