Novo Nordisk Brings Back Former CEO To Lead Board

• The outcome was unsurprising as Novo Nordisk Foundation controls 77% of the votes at the Novo Nordisk Annual General Meeting.
• Sorensen said he intends to stay on in the role for a maximum of three years.

Novo Nordisk (NVO) said on Friday that Lars Rebien Sørensen, the chair of its dominant shareholder, Novo Nordisk Foundation, has been elected as chair of the Board at the drugmaker, replacing Helge Lund.

The outcome was unsurprising as Novo Nordisk Foundation controls 77% of votes at the Novo Nordisk Annual General Meeting through its investment company, Novo Holdings A/S. Sørensen was also previously the CEO of Novo from 2000 to 2016.  

The New Chairman

Sørensen, however, said that he intends to hold the position only for a period of two to three years. “My mandate is very clear. I have two important tasks together with the Board: First, to support the CEO and the management in its transformation plans to regain its competitive leadership, and second, prepare the way for my successor,” he said.

Novo named Mike Doustdar as CEO of the company in August after Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen stepped down in May. Jørgensen decided to step down as per a mutual agreement with the Novo Nordisk board. The board stated that the change is being made in light of Novo Nordisk's recent market challenges, the company’s declining share price since mid-2024, and discussions with the Novo Nordisk Foundation.

Sorensen on Friday also said that he is looking to “strengthen the board with some qualifications,” with recent pharma or over-the-counter business experience. “We might see a future where our GLP-1 product is going in this direction,” he said, highlighting the company’s ambitions to make its drugs over-the-counter without prescription.

Minority shareholders, including Norway’s sovereign wealth fund and CalSTRS, opposed Sorensen’s appointment. Proxy advisor ISS also urged investors to abstain, citing “limited transparency and accountability to minority shareholders.”

Other appointments

Meanwhile, Cees de Jong was elected vice chair, replacing Henrik Poulsen, while Britt Meelby Jensen and Stephan Engels were appointed as members of the board at the meeting on Friday.

The new appointment comes amid Novo’s intense competition in the weight-loss drug market with its U.S. counterpart, Eli Lilly, and a dramatic board rupture last month, in which disagreements over governance principles between Novo’s board and the foundation prompted more than half of the supervisory board to resign.

Shares of NVO traded 2% lower by Thursday noon. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around NVO rose from ‘bearish’ to ‘neutral’ territory over the past 24 hours while message volume jumped from ‘normal’ to ‘high’ levels.

A Stocktwits user expressed optimism about the stock, citing the price-to-earnings valuation.

Another expressed hopes for the stock’s prospects.

NVO shares are down by 44% this year and by 54% over the past 12 months. 

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