Team size : 500

How do you approach managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crises, and how does your legal strategy align with the broader business strategy to ensure the organisation’s resilience?

The pace of change in geopolitics, the economy, our industry and even within our own company is unprecedented and shows no sign of abating. Our mindset as a legal team then is very important. We must assume that a new crisis will emerge at any moment–we don’t know what it is–but we must assume that something is coming. And our job is to run toward the crisis, not away from it. By adopting this mindset, we mitigate the risk that we will panic and make rash or unwise decisions when the unexpected happens. It is also important that we remind ourselves that whatever crises come our way, these days the odds are that they are truly novel, meaning there is no clear roadmap. While to some this may seem frightening, it is also exciting and energising. It is an opportunity to do something others have not done, and no matter what, it will be an excellent personal, team and organisational developmental opportunity. Great experiences and careers are developed during times like this, not during boring, status quo, “don’t rock the boat” periods.

What are the major cases or transactions you have been involved in recently?

In 2024, the Novo Nordisk legal organisation, working across specialities and geographies within the legal team, as well as working very collaboratively across the company as well as with Novo Holdings, successfully closed a complex acquisition of Catalent, a global contract manufacturer, which resulted in Novo Holdings acquiring Catalent, while Novo Nordisk acquired three strategic manufacturing sites in Europe and the United States. The deal was quite complex and is the largest acquisition in Danish history.

In your opinion, what are the main trends that are salient in your country currently?

For more than 100 years, Novo Nordisk has helped patients throughout the world suffering from chronic diseases, including diabetes. In recent years, Novo Nordisk has expanded its work to focus also on obesity and other health conditions. With this expansion, it has been important for Novo Nordisk also to substantially scale its operations, including its manufacturing operations, and our employee population has grown from approximately 40,000 just six or seven years ago to more than 75,000 today. This unprecedented growth and development is extremely exciting and also brings with it many new challenges across our business, including in our legal organisation.