Pizza oven pioneer Ooni appoints former Volvo Cars and Dyson boss as chair
“This is a brand that has created its own category and built extraordinary loyalty, but is still early in its growth story” – Jim Rowan
Scottish home pizza oven pioneer Ooni has appointed former Volvo Cars and Dyson boss Jim Rowan as its chairman.
The high-profile appointment anchors a series of senior governance updates designed to accelerate the brand’s next phase of global growth.
Glasgow-born Rowan joins Ooni’s board alongside Ruth Chandler - former chief people officer at Skyscanner - and Scott Maguire, whose roles have been formalised as non-executive directors following their previous positions as board advisors. Under Rowan’s direction, the board will work closely with the chief executive and management team to shape the Edinburgh firm’s ten-year strategy.
Ooni is credited with revolutionising the outdoor cooking market in 2012 by launching the world’s first portable pizza oven. Founded by Kristian Tapaninaho and Darina Garland, the business has now sold more than three million gas, multi-fuel and electric ovens globally.
In addition to its award-winning ovens, the firm entered a new product category last year with the Ooni Halo Pro which was followed by the launch of the Ooni Halo Core in 2026.
Rowan said: “What excites me about Ooni is the scale of the opportunity ahead. This is a brand that has created its own category and built extraordinary loyalty, but is still early in its growth story.
“Having spent much of my career scaling design-led consumer businesses globally, I’m delighted to be appointed as chair to lead the brand through this next chapter of growth by staying true to brand purpose and continuing to innovate world-class products.”
As Rowan steps into the role of chairman, he succeeds Paul Ross, who is stepping down after eight years in the position. During his tenure, Ross is said to have played an important role in guiding the organisation's growth and development, leaving a strong foundation for the future.
Co-founder Garland said: “Since the early days of Ooni we made the strategic decision to have a board of advisors, to bring together world-class experience that would challenge, support and steer us into the next level. Today we are so excited to bring this group of global stars into Ooni.
“We leaned into our value of ambition and had a rigorous process to find these board advisors and our new chair. Jim is an exceptional leader, and we’re delighted to have him as chair.
“Alongside Ruth and Scott, he brings a huge amount of experience and perspective to Ooni at a really exciting time in our journey.
“I would also like to take this opportunity to give heartfelt thanks to Paul Ross for his wisdom and expertise in chairing Ooni through the last eight years of phenomenal growth. Having decided this is the right moment for him to hand over the reins with Ooni’s next chapter well underway, we are immensely grateful for everything he has done for the business.”
Rowan joins Ooni following senior leadership roles at some of the world’s most recognised design-led businesses, including chief executive and president of Volvo Cars, chief executive and chief operating officer of Dyson, and chief operating officer of BlackBerry.
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