Laurier alum Jonelle Ricketts makes space for all Canadians as head of marketing at IKEA Canada

Feb. 9, 2026

Jonelle Ricketts (BBA ’02) spends her days thinking about how Canadians live, cook, entertain and rest. As the head of marketing at IKEA Canada, she leads the strategy that draws millions of visits to the IKEA website and 15 IKEA stores across the country.

Last year the company saw 200 million online visits and welcomed more than 33 million visitors into its stores. These traditional metrics are some of the ways Ricketts measures business and brand health, but she also tracks non-traditional measures, like the number of iconic Swedish meatballs the company sells each year. In 2025, IKEA sold a staggering 71 million meatballs in Canada.

Ricketts credits Wilfrid Laurier University’s co-op program for helping jumpstart her career. A third-year placement at Research in Motion, the company that would become BlackBerry, led to 10 years with the company during which Ricketts helped shape BlackBerry’s global brand strategy. She later joined IKEA Canada in 2011, where she worked in various roles contributing to campaign creative development, paid media strategy and consumer insights across Canada.

IKEA’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion was a top reason Ricketts joined the company. She works with IKEA leadership to amplify under‑represented voices both internally and in the communities IKEA serves.

“IKEA is a very inclusive brand overall,” says Ricketts. “But one of the things that I’ve been very intentional about in my role over the last two and a half years is really taking that to the next level.”

Ricketts took inspiration from Disney’s Pixar Animation Studios, which established “cultural trusts” when developing 2020’s Soul, a film about a Black jazz musician. Cultural trusts ensure that staff and consultants working on a project are representative of the subject, which leads to more authentic storytelling.

Ricketts created the IKEA Canada Culture Collective to examine the company’s processes, from planning to production, and ensure it has the right people involved and represented.

One campaign created through the initiative was “Making Space for BIPOC photographers,” which saw IKEA invite up-and-coming interior photographers to create images of new kitchen designs and document their processes for a companion campaign.

“Often, there are so many talented photographers out there from underrepresented communities who don’t get to work with big brands like ours,” says Ricketts. “The Making Space campaign gave them the opportunity to shine, then we got to put the spotlight back on them for the great work they’re doing.”

Across the business, teams are encouraged to create work that reflects the lived realities of the customers they serve. In showrooms, interior design teams curate vignettes inspired by local cultures and traditions. Recent displays have included the homes of Indigenous, Jamaican and Indian families, complete with IKEA solutions like a closet set up to hang sarees, or a craft room for beading indigenous regalia. This has led to excited customers sharing their discoveries of these spaces on social media.

“When someone can go into a store or see our marketing initiatives and feel seen, heard and understood, it translates into our success,” says Ricketts. “It’s not just the right thing to do, but it’s good business as well.”

Ricketts was awarded the 2025 Marketer of the Year award from Strategy Magazine for her work on projects like Making Space for BIPOC photographers and “Actually, it’s IKEA,” a campaign that highlighted affordability but mimicked the feel of high fashion and luxury brand advertising.

Ricketts remains deeply connected to Laurier. She is a board member of the Wilfrid Laurier University Alumni Association and serves on the Outreach Committee. She is a judge for its Partners in Excellence pitch competition, supporting the next cohort of Laurier students ready to start their careers.

“Employers really value what Laurier students bring to the table,” says Ricketts. “I really encourage students to get involved on campus. Laurier is part of your life for four years, but it can also be a lifetime commitment if you’re able to give back.”