BRING DEDICATION – MEET POSSIBILITIES Introducing the future President and CEO of JYSK, Rami Jensen A job in JYSK comes with a promise: If you bring dedication, you will meet possibilities. Since entering the company as an apprentice in 1994, Rami Jensen’s strong dedication has continuously led to new possibili- ties, greater challenges, and more responsibility, all of which will soon be culminating in his new role as President and CEO of JYSK as of Sep- tember 2023. Rami Jensen was born in Aarhus in 1974. At the age of five, he and his mother moved to Esbjerg, a port city in the southwestern part of Denmark, where Rami grew up and went to school. It was at the local JYSK store that Rami started his career in retail as an appren- tice in 1994. He then travelled across the country to train for the Store Manager position which became a reality in 1996. In 2000, just six years after setting foot in the organisation for the first time, Rami was made Area Manager. and long hours that come with it, and still make time for playing football with the kids etc. JYSK, and work in general, has always been a big, but very positive, part of our familiy," Rami says. Starting from scratch Upon arrival in Budapest, it quickly became clear to Rami that he had a demand- ing task ahead of him: “We arrived in Hungary in January 2005 and the first store was to open in April. So, we quickly needed to find and hire employees, build an organisation, and get the store facilities ready. I remember one of the first introductory meetings with the newly hired Store Managers, which had to take place in the basement of a private home, because we were yet to find a proper office. It was a bit cha- otic in the beginning, we really started from scratch, but it was also very exciting,” Rami says. “Retail is often underrated as a career path, even though there are vast opportu- nities for taking on responsibility at a young age and shaping your job and future,” Rami says with reference to his own journey, which he hopes will inspire others. A family journey In 2004, Rami became Retail Manager - a job that came with the responsibility of rolling out the JYSK concept in a new market, Hungary. At the time, there were no Hungarian stores or local organisation. Rami’s first visit to Hungary was a short but efficient trip to Budapest with his wife, Mija, with the goal of selecting a future home for themselves and their 10-month-old son, Victor. 15 potential houses were visited in one day. Prior to the big move, the couple also received language lessons to get a basic under- standing of Hungarian. In general, Rami’s family has always been a big part of his journey – literally as well as symbolically: ”My family has always moved around with me, first to Copenhagen, then Buda- pest, and now Silkeborg, where we live today. I actually met Mija through JYSK, when we were both working as Store Managers. And whilst living in Hungary, we were both part of the Country Management Team, meaning we were work- ing and living together. We have always been able to find a good daily rhythm, which has allowed both of us to pursue our career goals, with all the travelling One year later, Rami’s area of responsibility grew again, as he was appointed Country Manager for Hungary. In addition, he was appointed Country Manager for Slovenia in 2007 and for Croatia in 2008, with the same task of introducing the JYSK concept to the new markets and building local organisations. While the new JYSK markets expanded, so did Rami’s family; during what came to be a five-year-long stay in Hungary, Rami and his wife welcomed their daugh- ter Fiona to the world. By the time the family of four returned to Denmark, 60 new JYSK stores had been launched across three countries. An open conversation Having acquired a great amount of experience, Rami returned to a position as Retail Operational Director at the JYSK head office in Brabrand, Denmark. His new homebase became Silkeborg, a city with close ties to JYSK and Lars Larsen Group. In his new role as Retail Operational Director, he was given responsibility of sev- eral emerging JYSK markets, such as The Netherlands, England, Slovakia, and The Czech Republic. Though Rami enjoyed working with store operations, he was curious about oth- er aspects of the business as well. Conversations with current President and CEO of JYSK, Jan Bøgh, led him to the purchasing department, where he became LARS LARSEN GROUP | ANNUAL REPORT 2021/22 | TRADESMANSHIP | PAGE 33
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