Lars Rebien Sørensen (born 10 October 1954) is a Danish businessman and former CEO of the pharmaceutical company

Novo Nordisk Novo Nordisk A/S is a Danish multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Bagsværd, Denmark, with production facilities in nine countries, and affiliates or offices in five countries. Novo Nordisk is controlled by majority shareholder ...

and current chairman of the board at the

Novo Nordisk Foundation The Novo Nordisk Foundation is an international enterprise foundation focusing on medical treatment and research. In 2021, the foundation had a net worth of $93.73 billion (697 billion DKK),Novo Nordisk Foundation - Annual report 2021: https:/ ...

(from 2018) and

Novo Holdings A/S Novo Holdings A/S (formerly Novo A/S) is the Novo Nordisk Foundation's wholly owned holding company for Novo Nordisk A/S and Novozymes A/S. Novo Holdings A/S was established in 1999 and manages the Novo Nordisk Foundation’s assets, which in 2 ...

Biography

Education

Lars Rebien Sørensen is a MSc forestry graduate from the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, now part of the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in ...

(1981) and holds a master's degree from

Copenhagen Business School Copenhagen Business School (Danish'': Handelshøjskolen i København'') often abbreviated and referred to as CBS (also in Danish), is a public university situated in Copenhagen, Denmark and is considered one of the most prestigious business schoo ...

(1983).

Career

He was employed by

in 1982 within marketing of

enzyme Enzymes () are proteins that act as biological catalysts by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different molecules known as products. A ...

s and became sales and marketing director for the enzyme department in 1989. He joined the Group Executive Board of

in 1994 and was handed the responsibility of the medical department of

. In 2000 the enzyme department was de-merged from

and became its own entity,

Novozymes Novozymes A/S is a global biotechnology company headquartered in Bagsværd outside of Copenhagen, Denmark. The company's focus is the research, development and production of industrial enzymes, microorganisms, and biopharmaceutical ingredients. ...

, and Lars Rebien Sørensen took over the position of CEO for

, after Mads Øvlisen. In January 2017, Lars Rebien Sørensen was succeeded as CEO by Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen. As part of his

severance package A severance package is pay and benefits that employees may be entitled to receive when they leave employment at a company unwillfully. In addition to their remaining regular pay, it may include some of the following: * Any additional payment base ...

, Sørensen received a "

golden handshake A golden handshake is a clause in an executive employment contract that provides the executive with a significant severance package in the case that the executive loses their job through firing, restructuring, or even scheduled retirement. This can ...

" of 65.7 million DKK (approx. US$10.7 million). His annual salary in 2016 was 22.7 million DKK (approx. US$3.7 million). He was CEO at

from 2000 until the end of 2016 and was replaced by Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen at the beginning of 2017. Lars Rebien Sørensen took on the position as

chairman of the board The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

on 1 July 2018. He is also the chairman of the board at Novo Holdings A/S. The

is one of the largest foundations in the world and the foundation which is the

majority shareholder A shareholder (in the United States often referred to as stockholder) of a corporation is an individual or legal entity (such as another corporation, a body politic, a trust or partnership) that is registered by the corporation as the legal owner ...

and NNIT (Novo Group) along with investments in more than 80 other companies within the

life-science This list of life sciences comprises the branches of science that involve the scientific study of life – such as microorganisms, plants, and animals including human beings. This science is one of the two major branches of natural science, ...

s sector through its 100% owned subsidiary

. Lars Rebien Sørensen was a representative in the Danish Central bank and he holds a seat at the board of directors in Axcel Management A/S, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (USA), Essity AB (Sweden), Jungbunzlauer Suisse AG (Switzerland) and

Board member positions

Lars Rebien Sørensen currently holds the following board member seats: *

– chairman of the board *

Axcel Axcel is a leading Nordic private equity firm with offices in Stockholm and Copenhagen. Since its foundation in 1994, Axcel has made 68 platform investments and today the firm owns 19 companies across all four Nordic countries. Axcel invests in ...

Management A/S – Vice Chairman of the board *

Thermo Fisher Scientific Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. is an American supplier of scientific instrumentation, reagents and consumables, and software services. Based in Waltham, Massachusetts, Thermo Fisher was formed through the merger of Thermo Electron and Fisher S ...

Inc. (USA) – Board member *

Essity Essity AB is a global hygiene and health company, with its headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden. The products portfolio contains one-use products such as tissue paper, baby diapers, feminine care (menstruation pads etc.), incontinence products, ...

AB (Sweden) – Board member * Jungbunzlauer Suisse AG (Switzerland) – Board member * Ferring Pharmaceuticals – chairman of the board

Private life

Lars Rebien Sørensen is married to Charlotte Idin Sørensen and they have three children.

Recognition

Lars Rebien Sørensen was awarded the "''World's Best CEO''" by ''

Harvard Business Review ''Harvard Business Review'' (''HBR'') is a general management magazine published by Harvard Business Publishing, a wholly owned subsidiary of Harvard University. ''HBR'' is published six times a year and is headquartered in Brighton, Massach ...

'' in 2015 and 2016.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sorenson, Lars Rebien 1954 births Living people