+ A
A -
Kevin Rainforth has lived a large part of his life in the Middle East. He did most of his schooling in the region and then came back to work in the region too.
"I am from the UK and my wife was born in the US. However, I have spent the last 15 years in the Middle East. I was lucky enough to go to school in the Middle East so I was exposed to cultural differences at a young age. It felt natural to me to move back here and pursue my career in the region," said Rainforth.
Working as store manager with Ikea Qatar, Rainforth began his journey with Ikea 16 years ago at their Jeddah store and has matured with the company.
"Ikea is a big family and my role is to take care and develop this big family professionally and to make sure they and our customers have a better everyday life. I really enjoy the wide product range Ikea offers as it is fun to always have something new to discover and work with. However, the best thing about working here is that Ikea has values that are true to my heart and working in a company that dedicates its business to live by those values is really what makes it worthwhile."
Rainforth will soon be celebrating the completion of his first year in the country and says that it has been a memorable year.
"I really enjoy Qatar, it has all the choices Europe has but with a cosmopolitan touch. At Ikea, I have the opportunity to work with over 26 nationalities which is such a great experience. Every year our interior designers visit houses to understand needs and living situations of people in Doha. This year, I had the opportunity to visit homes of Qataris and it was a great chance to get to know and understand the culture. It was such a pleasure to meet such welcoming people."
"What I miss the most in the UK, is the view from my balcony, it overlooks a beautiful river. But what I like the best about Qatar is also the view from my balcony I now overlook the Gulf and witness the best sunsets. If only the winter was a little longer, it would be perfect."
