Management

Freddy Sobin has been the Group CEO of XXL since May 2023. Sobin came from the position as the CEO of KICKS Group, a position he has held since 2018. KICKS is a leading Nordic retailer within beauty products with 230 stores in Sweden, Norway and Finland and strong online presence and growth. Sobin also knows the sports and outdoor industry well from his almost five-year long tenure as a Chairman of the Board of Outnorth.  He holds a Master of Business and Administration from Stockholm School of Economics (Handelshögskolan i Stockholm). Before joining KICKS he served as CEO of Consortio Fashion Group, with Bubbleroom as the most known brand, for nearly seven years. In addition to these merits, Sobin is also an experienced Board Member. He is currently serving on the Board of Svensk Handel, Svenskt Näringsliv and successful retail companies like Salling Group in Denmark and Bubbleroom in Sweden. Freddy Sobin is 41 years old, Swedish citizen and resides in Sweden.

Lars Syse Christiansen has been the CFO in XXL ASA since August 2024. Christiansen came from the position as chairman of the board for Cardboard and Wanda, companies he has also co-founded. He holds a Master of Science in Management from the London School of Economics, as well a management program in Corporate Finance and Investment Analysis and a Master of Marketing Management from the Norwegian School of Management (BI in Oslo). Before co-founding Wanda, a circular logistics platform, he served as CFO of Otovo AS, a company he co-founded back in 2015. Otovo is a leading online solar sales platform, listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange, with operations in Norway, Sweden, France and Spain. From 2012-2014 he served as CFO in Circle K Europe, a global convenience retail chain. Lars Syse Christiansen has also been CFO in Storebrand Bank ASA as well as Head of Business Development in Posten Norge AS. He is also an experienced Board Member mostly within start-ups and venture companies. He is currently serving on the Board of Ruter AS, a provider of public transport in the Oslo region. Mr. Syse Christiansen is a Norwegian citizen and resides in Norway.

Dawid Gosciniak has been the Group COO of XXL since May 2024. He came to XXL after around 20 years in different senior positions within H&M Group, most recently as the Global Head of H&M Store Experience and Commercial with the overall responsibility for retail store channel strategy, channel integration and customer experience. Dawid has a strong opertional and diverse international background and has held positions including Group Head of Retail Space, Country Sales Manager in Greater China, and Head of Expansion, Leasing, Store Planning and Construction in both Greater China and Southeast Asia and CEE. Mr. Gosciniak is a polish citizen and resides in Sweden.

Emelie Friis has been the EVP Marketing & Growth in the XXL Group since August 2023. Previously she held the position as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) in Kronans Apotek, being responsible for a turn-around of the marketing department from analogue to unified commerce. She has also been working with both E-commerce, digital transformation and CRM. Emelie started her career as art director and creative director in several communication agencies and has also worked in V&S Group and Pernod Ricard with strong brands like Absolut Vodka, Malibu and Kahlua. Emelie Friis is a Swedish citizen and resides in Sweden.

Tolle O. R Grøterud has been EVP HR & Communications since September 2020 and Chief of Staff since April 2020 with the responsibilities for Group Human Resources and Communication including Investor Relations, Strategy and Sustainability. He acted as the interim Managing Director Norway from November 2020 until June 2021, held the position as interim CEO of XXL ASA from December 2018 until April 2020 and  interim CFO of XXL ASA from July 2018 to October 2018. Before that Grøterud was Investor Relations and Strategy Director in XXL ASA from September 2014. Prior to joining XXL, he served as Partner and Equity Sales in Arctic Securities AS and as Vice President Investor Relations in Telenor ASA. Mr. Grøterud holds a M.Sc in Finance from the Norwegian School of Economics. Tolle O. R. Grøterud is a Norwegian citizen and resides in Norway.

Simen Swanstrøm Helly-Hansen has been the EVP Category, Buying & Supply Chain in XXL Group since November 2023. Helly-Hansen has a strong and diverse international experience of more than 20 years in different senior positions within retail. He came from the position as Director Category and Procurement in Vinmonopolet focusing on customer driven category and assortment development, procurement, replenishment and business development. Prior to Vinmonopolet Simen Helly-Hansen held several positions within Phoenix Group and Apotek1 (pharmaceuticals) including Director Commercial Relations in Phoenix Group Europe, Supply Chain Director Apotek1 and Category and Procurement Director Apotek1. He has also broad experience from car retail within Renault-Nissan UK, as a Product Manager Services with responsibility of negotiations and supplier relations, marketing, pricing and strategic development of commercial programs. Mr. Helly-Hansen is a Norwegian citizen and resides in Norway.

Peter Jansson has been the SVP IT & Technology in XXL Group since November 2023.  He has been employed in XXL since 2017 with the responsibility for tech development and IT architecture. Before joining XXL Peter Jansson worked as an IT and Business consultant and analyst in iStone and Capgemini, where he has experience from working with several strong Nordic retail chains. In addition, Jansson has technical competence from Ericsson where he worked as a software designer and solutions integrator. Peter Jansson is a Swedish citizen and resides in Sweden.