LEGO Group recruits new LEGO® House CEO in-house
On 1 August 2022, Kathrine Kirk Muff will take over the role of CEO at LEGO House from Jesper Vilstrup. She has been with the LEGO Group since 2008, and takes up her new position after six years as the company’s Vice President, Head of Social Responsibility. Kathrine Kirk Muff was involved with developing LEGO House, which she is now taking charge of with a crystal-clear ambition that it should be a bucket list destination for all LEGO fans.
The 12,000-square-metre LEGO® House in Billund opened its doors to the public back in 2017 after three years of construction work. For two years before the official opening and right up until now, Jesper Vilstrup has been its CEO, and has played a key role in making it an award-winning international destination.
On 1 August, Jesper Vilstrup hands over the reins to Kathrine Kirk Muff. She originally started working for the LEGO Group in 2008, initially as a lawyer at KIRKBI, which owns 75% of the group.
For the past 14 years, she has held a wide range of different roles. Among other things, she was responsible for LEGO House for 10 months during the development phase, and she spent two years in Shanghai, where she built up the LEGO Group’s CSR agenda in China.
Her time in China was part of her work as the company’s Vice President, Head of Social Responsibility – a position she has held since 2016. In the past six years, she has, among other things, established partnerships with UNICEF and Save the Children, and she and her team have set up more than 200 local programmes and partnerships that support families and children with a focus on learning through play – as well as children’s rights.
In addition, she has developed and run the LEGO Group’s wide-ranging agenda within employee engagement, including an annual Play Day for all employees.
The inspiring vision must be realised
She is stepping into her new role as CEO of LEGO House with considerable humility.
“I’m so impressed with what has been created at LEGO House. All the ratings show how much both visitors and employees love it, so my task is to continue working to realise the inspiring vision that has already been established,” she explains, adding:
“It is a vision of being a lighthouse for the LEGO brand, which must inspire and engage LEGO fans of all ages – and from all over the world – in learning through play. So, LEGO House must, of course, always be the best place in the world to experience the LEGO idea, and to continuously innovate how the LEGO brick can be used in new ways. The vision is also about being the best place to work, because we can only deliver on our high ambitions if both hospitality towards our visitors and the leadership are world-class.”
Focus on digitalisation and inclusion
The experience industry is constantly evolving, and it is an important and far-reaching task ensuring that LEGO House keeps pace with developments and continues to reflect the LEGO brand. A brand which, among other things, stands for innovation and creativity, and which has a very strong reputation, as Kathrine Kirk Muff explains:
“Both digitalisation and inclusion will be a big part of my work, especially when we welcome rising generations to LEGO House. The LEGO brick will always be our starting point, but we must develop new ways of integrating physical and digital play. The digital layer must help to provide even stronger learning through play and experience, both prior to and after visiting LEGO House. In addition, LEGO House must be inclusive and universal, so that everyone – both visitors and employees – feels completely at home in the building.”
LEGO House must be on every LEGO fan’s bucket list
Kathrine Kirk Muff has a crystal-clear ambition – that LEGO House becomes a bucket list destination for every LEGO fan:
“LEGO House is – and must continue to be – the ultimate LEGO experience, which LEGO fans of all ages dream of visiting. It is the only place in the world where you can surround yourself with everything that the LEGO idea and the entire LEGO universe embrace. Where you can see LEGO bricks being used in ways that showcase the endless possibilities. It requires that we are constantly developing the experiences, and that it remains the best workplace. Every employee at LEGO House – regardless of function – is central to giving each and every visitor an experience they will never forget.”
Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, Chairman of the Board of Directors for KIRKBI, says the following about the new LEGO House CEO:
“Kathrine is a passionate ambassador for learning through play. She possesses extensive commercial experience, and has built strong partnerships with community organisations and children. Kathrine is a visionary leader, and I’m delighted that she is now joining the team at LEGO House.”
Read more about LEGO® House at www.legohouse.com.
For further information, please contact:
Anja Linnet · anja@have.dk · +45 22 65 53 48
Stine Albrechtsen · stine@have.dk · +45 30 24 14 00
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Kathrine Kirk Muff
- Master of Laws – LLM, Law, Aarhus University
- Executive MBA from IMD Business School, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Member of the Board of the Danish Red Cross
- Lives in Esbjerg with her husband and two children
