Jørgen Vig Knudstorp (born 21 November 1968) is a Danish businessman who is the current executive chairman of

The Lego Group Lego A/S, also known as the Lego Group, is a Danish construction toy production company based in Billund. It manufactures Lego-branded toys, consisting mostly of interlocking ABS plastic and rubber bricks. The Lego Group has also built severa ...

. He succeeded Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen as president and CEO of the company in October 2004, holding the position for over 12 years until January 2017, when he stepped down to become executive chairman. He was the second person from outside the family of Ole Kirk Christiansen to lead the company (the first one being Vagn Holck Andersen between 1973 and 1979), and is widely credited with turning it around from failure.

Early years

Knudstorp was born on 21 November 1968 in

Fredericia Fredericia () is a town located in Fredericia Municipality in the southeastern part of the Jutland peninsula in Denmark. The city is part of the Triangle Region Denmark, Triangle Region, which includes the neighbouring cities of Kolding and Vej ...

, Denmark. He graduated from Fredericia Gymnasium before attending

Aarhus University Aarhus University (, abbreviated AU) is a public research university. Its main campus is located in Aarhus, Denmark. It is the second largest and second oldest university in Denmark. The university is part of the Coimbra Group, the Guild, and Ut ...

. After obtaining his undergraduate degree in economics, Knudstorp began an academic career as a researcher at his alma mater as well as obtaining a master's degree (1995) and a PhD (1998) in Economics from Aarhus University. He stayed in academia, but worked as a business consultant from 1998 to 2000.

LEGO career

Jørgen Vig Knudstorp joined the LEGO Group in 2001 after working as a

McKinsey & Company McKinsey & Company (informally McKinsey or McK) is an American multinational strategy and management consulting firm that offers professional services to corporations, governments, and other organizations. Founded in 1926 by James O. McKinse ...

consultant and university researcher at Aarhus University. In 2004, he was selected as the company's next leader. Under Knudstorp's tenure, LEGO's yearly income went from a loss to drawing a notable profit. In 2016, the company experienced a 600% increase in turnover, from 6.3 billion to 37.9 billion. In December 2016, it was announced that Knudstorp would step down as CEO of LEGO, and instead take the position of chairman of the group. He was succeeded by Bali Padda.

Positions outside Lego

In January 2017,

Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational List of coffeehouse chains, chain of coffeehouses and Starbucks Reserve, roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1971 by Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gor ...

nominated Knudstorp to its board of directors. He joined the board of Merlin Entertainments in 2019.

Personal life

Knudstorp is married to a medical doctor, Vanessa, with whom he has four children.

References

External links

LEGO Company Management

Interview with Jørgen Vig Knudstorp at MonocleInterview with Jørgen Vig Knudstorp at Meet the Boss TVAt LEGO, Growth and Culture Are Not Kid Stuff - An interview with Jorgen Vig KnudstorpWisdom From The Top with Guy Raz
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knudstorp, Jorgen Vig Living people Danish businesspeople Danish chairpersons of corporations Lego people 1968 births McKinsey & Company people Aarhus University alumni People from Fredericia