Ooni appoints former Volvo Cars CEO and Dyson CEO Jim Rowan as new Board Chair
EDINBURGH, Scotland - 18th August 2026: Ooni, the trailblazing cooking product company and leader of the home pizza oven market, today announces the appointment of former Volvo Cars and Dyson CEO Jim Rowan as Chair of the Board, effective 1st August 2026. This appointment anchors a series of senior governance updates designed to accelerate the brand’s next phase of global growth.
Jim brings decades of international leadership from some of the world's most innovative, design-led businesses including chairing Lime. At Volvo Cars, as CEO and President, he scaled a premium consumer product across complex global markets; at Dyson, as COO and CEO, he helped build a brand defined by design-driven engineering. He also served as COO of BlackBerry.
He joins Ooni’s Board alongside Ruth Chandler and Scott Maguire, whose roles have been formalised as Non-executive Directors following their previous positions as Board Advisors. Together, they bring extensive global experience across innovation, people and commercial success, further strengthening Ooni’s leadership as the company continues to expand and evolve.
The new Board structure gives Ooni a strong foundation to pursue its long-term ambition and continued growth. Under Jim’s direction, the Board will work closely with the CEO and management team to shape Ooni’s 10 year strategy and ensure the company continues to make the right decisions for the global community of Ooni customers.
Darina Garland, Founder of Ooni, 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 8 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.”
Jim Rowan, Chair of Ooni’s Board, 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 Jim Rowan steps into the role of Chair, he succeeds Paul Ross, who is stepping down after eight years in the position. During his tenure, Paul has played an important role in guiding the organisation's growth and development, leaving a strong foundation for the future.
Notes to Editors
The Ooni Board
Ooni’s new Board comprises Jim Rowan, Chair; Founders Darina Garland and Kristian Tapaninaho; Ruth Chandler and Scott Maguire, Non-Executive Directors; Karthik Iyer, CEO, and Andrew Brown, CFO, as Executive Directors.
Jim Rowan - Chair - Biography
Jim brings to the role extensive international leadership experience across the automotive, technology and engineering sectors. Most recently, was the CEO and President of Volvo Cars, where he led the company to record profits in its 98-year history and was recognised as CEO of the Year by Newsweek and Automotive News, as well as named a Global 100 Climate Leader by Time Magazine. He previously served as COO and then CEO of Dyson, and as COO of BlackBerry. A Scottish-born engineer who began his career as an engineering apprentice on the production floor, Jim now holds a number of non-executive and advisory roles, including Chair of Lime and STAC, and an independent director at Lotus Cars.
Ruth Chandler - Non-executive Director - Biography
Ruth brings an impressive track record in HR leadership and executive coaching to Ooni's Board. As Chief People Officer of Skyscanner, she played a key role in the company’s growth and successful £1.4bn acquisition. She now works as a Board Advisor at Skyscanner and executive coach helping leaders and organisations navigate growth and change.
Scott Maguire - Non-executive Director - Biography
Scott is a seasoned innovator with a passion for design, engineering and growing premium businesses, bringing extensive leadership experience to Ooni's Board. He is currently President and Chief Operating Officer of On, having previously served as CEO of Specialized and COO of Dyson - experience spanning some of the world's most respected design-led consumer brands.
About Ooni
Ooni revolutionised the outdoor cooking landscape in 2012 by launching the world’s first portable pizza oven, creating the category and turning a generation of pizza eaters into pizza makers across the globe. Founded by Kristian Tapaninaho and Darina Garland, Ooni is the world’s No. 1 pizza oven brand with over 3 million gas, multi-fuel and electric ovens sold globally and over 92,000 five-star reviews.
In addition to award-winning ovens, in 2025 Ooni entered a new product category with the Ooni Halo Pro which was followed by the launch of the Ooni Halo Core in 2026. The innovative range of Spiral Mixers is designed to bring professional dough mixing into the home kitchen. Ooni also offers a full range of must-have accessories.
Ooni is known for creating trailblazing cooking products that feed both people and planet, redefining the everyday act of cooking through award-winning and high-quality design.
To explore the full Ooni product range, visit ooni.com.
Contact Information:
Anna Sienko
Backbone Media
Associate Earned Media Strategist
anna.sienko@backbone.media