Stefan Ytterborn (born November 24, 1963) is a Swedish entrepreneur in product design, communication, and branding ^{[1] [2]}. He is the founder of consulting company Ytterborn & Fuentes, ski safety wear brand POC Sports and electric motorcycle and moped manufacturer Cake ^[3].

Ytterborn grew up in Sundbyberg, outside Stockholm ^[4], with his parents and younger brother, Jan Ytterborn.  His father was a lawyer, and his mother was a gym teacher. His family was very active in sports and outdoor activities, and his mother in particular promoted all kinds of sports. Stefan and his brother spent their free time in the winter skiing and in the summer, they played water sports and various team sports.

During the winters Ytterborn regularly used the local slalom hill in Sundbyberg where his love of skiing began. "I was definitely not a star, but I loved slalom and skied as much as I could. Me and my little brother made our own slalom clothes, so we looked like Gustav Thöni, the cool Italian who dominated slalom before Ingmar Stenmark broke through." ^[5]

Ytterborn was not an academic school pupil, and said of his school days, “I was far too restless to sit on a school bench. My little brother was a lot more focused and later on studied to be an architect. I lacked that patience." ^[6]

Ytterborn’s first job at 19 years old was selling blinds and gave him his first exposure to working with architects, experience that would influence his later career paths, “I became interested in environmental and design issues. I studied different eras, and the closer I got to the present, the more I realized that this was where I wanted to work and be. It was a very important process for me.” (ICON MAG)

Ytterborn’s entrepreneurial career began in furniture and interior design (ICON MAG), and at 21 he started his first company C & Bi Interior, bringing contemporary international design to Scandinavia.

The economy's downturn in the 1990s led to a shift in market aspirations from an over-the-top 80s style towards simplicity and longevity. This change, combined with a new generation of Swedish designers, inspired Stefan to found CBI, a furniture brand that promoted Swedish contemporary design to the rest of the world. CBI premiered at the Milan Furniture Fair in 1993, with big success. This helped forge a reputation of Ytterborn as one of Sweden’s leading designers.

CBI represented contemporary brands such as SCP ^[7], founded and led Sheridan Coakley that amplified the presence of the London scene and its new generation of designers to the rest of the world, together with various Spanish brands such as Mariscal, sprawling post-Franco and technical lighting from Italian Luce Plan ^[8] and more.

As an extension of importing contemporary furniture and lighting, Ytterborn also curated a number of designer shows and exhibitions promoting visions, future directions, and the designers to the Scandinavian audience. Many of them eventually became some of the most influential designers of their time, such as; Jasper Morrison, Marc Newson, Konstantin Grcic, Alfredo Häberli, Ross Lovegrove, and James Irvine.

CBI’s first collection included designs from Pia Wallén ^[9], Sofia Uddén, Thomas Eriksson, Thomas Sandell, Per Söderberg and James Irvine. To further amplify interest and resources Ytterborn gathered fellow companies David Design ^[10], Box ^[11], Forminord and Asplund ^[12] alongside CBI to form the umbrella organization Swecode, for international marketing activities and additional impact for Swedish design.

A number of products from CBI’s designer collective continue to be held in high regard amongst designers, with many considered classics of interior design. These include Björn Dahlström’s ^[13] gondola sofa ^[14], assorted cookware for iittala ^{[15] [16]}, and Carina Seth Anderson’s ^[17] range for Hackman.

One of Ytterborn’s most prominent projects was with Scandinavian furniture company IKEA, when in 1995 he pitched to improve and forge a design language that would embody the Swedish brand and promote a new era of Swedish design. Together with a team of designers, the result was IKEA PS (Post Scriptum), ^[18] a collection based on strong, simple designs ^[19] that continues to deliver functional, affordable interior collections in collaboration with selected designers. The project was launched at the furniture fair in Giardino Publico in Milan, together with 15 young Swedish designers. The launch of IKEA PS was impactful, both in terms of igniting IKEA as well as supporting the way forward for Swedish design on the global design scene.

Inspired by working with large companies and opportunities for meaningful investments and true innovation, Ytterborn founded the award-winning corporate brand and design consultancy Ytterborn & Fuentes ^[20], together with the advertising profiler Oscar Fuentes. Its aim was to develop platforms allowing for creative collaborations across the world, targeting long-term commercial success through low-risk activities. ^[21] The agency’s main focus became leading and directing Scandinavian brands, developing new platforms, products and go to market initiatives within glassware, ceramics and cookware. Clients included iittala ^[22], Rörstrand ^[23], Hackman ^[24], Arabia ^[25] and Absolut Vodka, with a 2001 CoreDesign Gold and Silver prizes ^[26] among many of the agency’s accolades.

The network of international designers and architects that the agency established, and their willingness to contribute had a massive impact on restarting these businesses with a global focus. Aside from Scandinavian design contributions from Björn Dahlström, Carina Seth Andersson, Stefan Lindfors, Jonas Bohlin ^[27], Pia Törnell ^[ii] and Harri Koskinen ^[iii], an international roster of young and established designers and architects were assigned. Renzo Piano ^[iv], Antonio Citterio ^[v], Vico Magistretti ^[vi], Alberto Meda ^[vii] and Richard Meier ^[viii] on the established side and Konstantin Grcic ^[ix], Alfredo Häberli ^[x] who worked a special ceramic project for Rörstrand ^[xi], Marc Newson ^[xii], James Irvine ^[xiii], Ross Lovegrove ^[xiv] and more were among the many contributors.

^[i] http://www.rorstrand.se/formgivare/jonas-bohlin

^[ii] http://www.rorstrand.se/formgivare/pia-tornell

^[iii] https://www.iittala.com/sv-se/om-oss/formgivare/harri-koskinen?showAll=true#aq=%40collectioncode%20%3D%3D%20(%22VALKEA%22)&numberOfResults=1000

^[iv] https://www.iittala.com/sv-se/dukning/allt-dukning/dukning/piano-set-om-16-delar-1009838

^[v] https://www.scandinavia-design.fr/IITTALA/citterio-98-cutlery-antonio-citterio.html

^[vi] https://www.treen.se/product-page/rim-mugs-from-rörstrand

^[vii] https://www.albertomeda.com/en/prodotti/water

^[viii] https://www.etsy.com/listing/1163952724/finnish-arabia-factorys-space-mug

^[ix] https://sep.yimg.com/ay/finnstyle/iittala-grcic-21.jpg

^[x] https://www.franckly.com/en/origo-tableware-set

^[xi] https://www.iittala.com/sv-se/om-oss/iittala-journal/alfredo-haberli-studio-visit

^[xii] https://marc-newson.com/projects/client/iittala/

^[xiii] https://sumally.com/p/1467533

^[xiv] https://ifdesign.com/en/winner-ranking/project/hackman-toolslovegrove-99/19644