Shelly Ibach, Sleep Number® setting 40, is Chair, President and Chief Executive Officer of Sleep Number Corporation. As CEO since June 2012, Shelly’s visionary leadership and consumer acuity have transformed the one-time mattress retailer into a consumer wellness technology leader. Through courageous, industry-defining decisions and strategic consistency, she has enabled Sleep Number’s life-changing sleep innovations, improving millions of lives and delivering meaningful consumer value.
An accomplished entrepreneur and innovator, Shelly leads with empathy and conviction, resulting in Sleep Number’s purpose to improve the health and wellbeing of society through higher quality at the forefront of its endeavors. She understands the value of connected health and led the innovation of the world’s first commercialized smart bed. Sleep Number smart beds combine the physical and digital worlds, integrating a highly advanced digital technology platform with exceptional comfort to help solve the vast, unmet need for quality sleep. Under Shelly’s leadership, the company’s culture of individuality and innovation, mission-driven teams, and focus for sustained superior stakeholder value creation has delivered meaningful results: more than14.5 million lives improved, over 23 billion hours of sleep data and nearly 3 million smart sleepers. True to its purpose, Sleep Number is applying its proprietary data and technology to sleep science and health research, leveraging its innovations to improve sleep – and society - for all.
After joining the company in April 2007, Shelly served across a wide breadth of executive leadership roles in consumer strategy, sales, marketing and product development, including Chief Operating Officer in 2011. In 2022, she added Board Chair to her role as President and CEO. Based in Minneapolis, the company employs 4100 passionate team members and operates 650 Sleep Number® stores located in all 50 U.S. states. Prior to Sleep Number, Shelly honed her instincts as an expert retailer, brand innovator, and sales and finance leader in over 20 years at Target Corporation and Macy’s.
Strong teams and enduring relationships are a part of Shelly’s legacy. She has led the company to deliver transformational sleep health innovations and partnerships with the National Football League (NFL), Mayo Clinic and the American Cancer Society (ACS), among others. Because of the NFL partnership, over 80% of NFL players have Sleep Number smart beds. The partnership with ACS will embark upon foundational sleep research to potentially inform the first-ever, cancer-specific sleep guidelines, which may have a long-term impact on the health of cancer patients and survivors, as well as cancer prevention. In 2022, ACS presented Sleep Number with the prestigious title, Corporate Partner of the Year.
Shelly has served as the chairperson for the American Cancer Society’s CEOs Against Cancer Minnesota chapter since 2020, receiving the ACS Game Changer Award in 2024. In 2021, she joined the Mayo Clinic Cardiovascular Research Center (CVRC) External Advisory Board. Additionally, she serves on the executive committee of the Minnesota Business Partnership, an organization focused on further enhancing the region’s quality of life. Shelly was named Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal’s 2019 Executive of the Year and was named EY Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2019 National Finalist. A passionate advocate to support quality sleep in all – including children - she was awarded the GENYOUth Vanguard Award in 2022 for her empathy, leadership and courage.