Event details:
Members: $10
Get a Behind the Scenes Tour of the San Francisco Meeting Place (IKEA) Before It Opens in 2024! Space is Limited!
Ingka Centres (which we know as IKEA) acquired the iconic six-floor building at 945 Market Street in 2020 and is developing a unique mix of retail, office space, food & beverage, entertainment, and of course, the IKEA store. They are building a much needed “Meeting Place” for this diamond in the rough Mid-Market neighborhood.
IKEA City San Francisco opened in August of this year to rave reviews. Together with the Meeting Place, the new development will offer a flexible co-working space Hej!Workshop with Industrious (3rd largest co-working space company in the U.S.), Saluhall– (food hall), and other uses such as digital experiences and wellness. The Meeting Place is expected to open in Spring 2024.
Ingka Centres is part of the Ingka Group (which also includes IKEA Retail and Ingka Investments). Ingka Centres has 50 years of experience in shopping centers and today works with over 3,000 brands across its portfolio of 33 shopping centers in 13 markets. The company hosts and serves more than 370 million visitors each year at its IKEA anchored meeting places. Ingka Centres creates its meeting places by collaborating with local communities, as well as its tenants and partners, to ensure they are destinations with emotional meaning that add value and build social connections.
Miia Kautovaara, Meeting Place Manager, Ingka Centres North America
Miia Kautovaara is a global retail and real estate professional, strategic business developer and change leader with more than 20 years of professional experience. Her professional background spans a broad range of retail sectors--food, fashion and home furnishings. In 2012, Miia joined IKEA and opened the first IKEA-anchored shopping center in Finland. In 2017 she moved to Sweden and was part of Ingka Centres global team in various roles within Expansion, Concept, Strategy and Sustainability.
In her current role as Meeting Place Manager she will create, drive, and develop the new Meeting Place in San Francisco. As the first Meeting Place Manager in Ingka Centres North America, she also leads setting up the business operations in the new market and oversees all assets in North America (US and Canada).
Besides her job, Miia is actively contributing to the business community as Business Advisor, Board member, Speaker and Mentor. She has huge passion for sustainability and growing the business responsibly. She lives in Marin County with her family and enjoys yoga and hiking during her free time.