Ingvar Kamprad

Kamprad, Ingvar, 1926–, Swedish business executive. In 1943 he founded IKEA, which began selling low-priced furniture in 1947. In the 1950s the company began designing its own furniture and home furnishings, becoming known for inexpensive, functional modern lines. In 1956 Kamrad debuted flat-boxed furniture, allowing customers to transport IKEA's products easily and IKEA to bypass warehousing with in-store inventory. IKEA's formula has made it hugely successful, with hundreds of stores in several dozen nations.

See his Leading By Design (with B. Torekull, 1998).