Following the 2027 Annual General Meeting, H. Lundbeck A/S intends to name Novo Nordisk CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen as the incoming Chair of its Board. Lundbeck plans to install former Novo Nordisk Chief Executive Officer Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen as Chair of its Board of Directors following the 2027 Annual General Meeting.
Transition Timing and Board Changes
The planned leadership handover will see current Board Chair Dorothea Wenzel step down at the 2027 annual general meeting. Wenzel has served on the company’s board since 2021 and took over as chair in March 2025 after previously chairing the Audit Committee.
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To prepare for the formal transition, Jørgensen will take an observer seat on the board beginning November 10, 2026. He will remain in that capacity until the 2027 annual meeting, at which point his formal election as a board member will be put to shareholders for approval. Nominated candidates for the board will be detailed in the official notice convening the 2027 meeting.
Lundbeck frames the timing of this leadership change around the next phase of its “Focused Innovator” corporate strategy, which originally launched in February 2024. According to corporate disclosures, the upcoming “Scale” phase aims to translate three years of ongoing business transformation into sustainable, long-term growth.
Three Decades of Healthcare Leadership
Jørgensen brings more than 30 years of international healthcare experience to the Danish drugmaker. Throughout his tenure leading Novo Nordisk from 2017 through 2025, he guided the enterprise through substantial expansion, bolstered its standing in diabetes care, and secured a dominant market share in obesity therapies.
Beyond his corporate executive tenure, Jørgensen is a former President of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations. He currently chairs the board of Healthcare Denmark and holds a seat on the board of Danmarks Nationalbank. He holds a Master of Science in Finance and Business Administration from Aarhus University.
Strategic Alignment and Financial Outlook
Vice Chair Lene Skole, speaking on behalf of the Lundbeck Foundation and the board, noted that the planned succession ensures continuity in Board leadership as the company enters its next phase. Jørgensen pointed to Lundbeck’s solid balance sheet and a pipeline with significant late-stage potential in brain health, describing the company as having the strength and momentum to enter its next growth phase.
