Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen is the CEO of Novo Nordisk. — © Shutterstock, AFP
The CEO of Novo Nordisk, the Danish pharmaceutical company behind Ozempic, has been named person of the year by the British newspaper Financial Times. Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen is praised for his pioneering work that can have a deep impact in several areas.
Source: Financial Times, Medwatch Yesterday at 06:19
Pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk is the developer of diabetes and obesity drugs Ozempic and Wegovy. Mainly because of the success of the latter tool, the Financial Times awards the title of “Person of the Year” to CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen. He succeeds Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Tesla, SpaceX and X CEO Elon Musk. Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Angela Merkel, Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Jack Ma also preceded the Dane.
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According to the Financial Times, Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen is not a typical CEO and everything about him is “understated”. No private jets for the man, for example, but regular scheduled flights. “But in his modest way, Jørgensen is pioneering a commercial innovation that could have a major impact not only on healthcare, but also on societies, public finances and our relationship with food.”
“For his role in leading this model of patient, persistent yet transformative innovation, the Financial Times has chosen Jørgensen as Person of the Year,” it said.
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Novo Nordisk became Europe’s most valuable company earlier this year, with its market value exceeding Denmark’s gross domestic product.
READ ALSO. Ozempic makes Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk the most valuable company in the EU
Jørgensen said in a response to the Financial Times that he feels a “great sense of responsibility to really succeed together with society.” According to the CEO, the title is a recognition of the company, its history and all employees. “For the past 100 years, we have worked to fight and prevent diabetes and other chronic diseases, and we are as committed today as we were when we started.”
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Jørgensen has worked for Novo Nordisk since 1991 and rose to CEO in 2017.
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