COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -The chair of Wegovy maker Novo Nordisk and six other independent board members will step down next month after a dispute over strategy with the drugmaker’s controlling shareholder, the Novo Nordisk Foundation
The company said on Tuesday that Helge Lund and the other independent directors would step down at an extraordinary shareholder meeting on November 14.
The Foundation said it would propose Lars Rebien Sorensen, a former Novo CEO and current chair of the Foundation, as temporary chairman of the drugmaker for two to three years.
Novo ousted CEO Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen in May over concerns that the company is losing its first-mover advantage in the highly competitive obesity drug market. His replacement has launched a restructuring drive, including 9,000 job cuts.
“Given the rapidly changing environment in which Novo Nordisk operates, we believe it is in the best interest of the company and its shareholders to carry out a board renewal as soon as possible, rather than waiting until the annual general meeting in March next year,” Sorensen said in a statement.
In a separate statement, Lund said it had “not been possible to reach a common understanding” with the Foundation.
“The Board proposed a renewal focusing on the addition of select, new competencies while also maintaining continuity, whereas the Board of the Foundation wanted a more extensive reconfiguration,” he said, without elaborating.
Lund has been chair of Novo’s board since 2018.
(Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen and Stine Jacobsen. Editing by Terje Solsvik and Mark Potter)
