November 26, 2014
By Mark Terry, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
Novo Nordisk announced today that Executive Vice President and Chief of Staff Lise Kingo was leaving the company as a result of management restructuring. The company is reducing its number of executives from seven to six, with her duties being shared among three other executives.
“I would like to thank Lise for her many contribution to Novo Nordisk during her impressive career in the company,” said Lars Rebien Sørensen, CEO of the company in a statement. “Of special note is her leadership in driving the company’s strategy within sustainable development, corporate branding and public affairs, which has earned Novo Nordisk recognition as a respected global business. I wish her the best of luck in the future.”
The remaining six executives are Lars Rebien Sørensen, CEO, Kåre Schultz, president and COO, Jesper Brandgaard, executive VP and CFO, Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, executive VP responsible for Corporate IT, Corporate Quality, Corporate Development, Corporate People & Organization and Business Assurance. Also, Jakob Riis is executive VP for Marketing, Medical Affairs and Corporate Stakeholder Engagement, and Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen is executive VP and chief science officer in charge of Research, Development and Regulatory Affairs.
Kingo’s responsibilities will be split, with Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen taking over corporate people and organisation and business assurance, Jakob Riis taking on corporate stakeholder engagement, and Lars Rebien Sørensen taking on corporate communications.
“I have really enjoyed being part of Novo Nordisk throughout my career, not least during my time as a member of its executive management,” said Kingo in a statement. “It has been a fantastic journey and I wish the company and my colleagues all the best in their onward journey. This is the beginning of a new chapter in which I plan to utilize my experience and insights in boards of companies and organizations internationally.”
Kingo joined Novo Nordisk in 1988. In 1999 she was appointed senior vice president, Stakeholder Relations. She assumed the role of executive vice president and chief of staffs, as well as global responsibility for corporate relations in 2002. An adjunct professor at the Medical Faculty, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, she is also chair of the board of Steno Diabetes Center A/S in Denmark, and a member of the board of Grieg Star Group AS, in Norway. In addition, she is chair of the Danish Council for Corporate Responsibility.
Kingo holds a Bachelor of Art degree in religions and ancient Greek art from the University of Aarhus in Denmark, a Bcom in marketing economics from the Copenhagen Business School and an MSc in Responsibility and Business Practice from the University of Bath in the U.K.
