Minority Shareholders Express Concerns as Foundation Tightens Control
A major leadership shakeup at Novo Nordisk — once Europe’s most valuable company — is expected to be confirmed on Friday as the company’s majority shareholder, the Novo Nordisk Foundation, moves to strengthen its grip on the weight-loss drugmaker. This comes at a time when minority shareholders have voiced dissatisfaction, reflecting growing tensions within the company.
Novo has recently been facing an increasingly chaotic situation, marked by falling share prices and declining investor confidence. Its dominance in the booming weight-loss drug market is being challenged, raising questions about its future leadership and strategy.
The company announced an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) for Nov. 14 to remove its independent board members, including Chair Helge Lund, after disagreements between the current board and the Foundation board made cooperation impossible.
This decision has sparked concern among minority investors. Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM) said it would abstain from voting, signaling displeasure, while other investors like the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) said they would vote against the proposal.
Lund will be replaced by longtime company leader Lars Rebien Sørensen, who served as CEO from 2000–2016 and currently chairs the Foundation board. Other proposed board members included Cees de Jong as vice chair and Mikael Dolsten, Britt Meelby Jensen, and Stephan Engels. However, Dolsten — former Pfizer R&D chief — withdrew his candidacy Friday morning due to personal reasons.
Shares of Novo Nordisk dropped 1.8% to $312.90 following the announcement.
Experts say the scale and speed of the leadership overhaul are highly unusual. According to Andrew Pettigrew of the University of Oxford, such drastic changes typically follow a major crisis or a sudden realization of strategic failure.
Sørensen acknowledged that the board was slow to recognize significant market shifts in the United States, where Novo’s main competitor Eli Lilly has rapidly gained market share with its powerful weight-loss drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound.
The Foundation argues that the new board composition will bring stronger U.S. consumer-market experience, which is increasingly important as Novo faces mounting competition, rising popularity of cheaper copycat drugs from compounding pharmacies, and a shift toward direct-to-consumer marketing.
The U.S. remains Novo’s largest market, representing 56% of sales in the first nine months of 2025. But analysts remain skeptical. Deutsche Bank’s Emmanuel Papadakis noted that the proposed new board may actually have less big-pharma commercial experience overall.
Novo shares have fallen 12% since the board shakeup was first announced and are down 58% this year. The company’s third-quarter earnings recently missed expectations, and full-year guidance was lowered due to weaker-than-forecast growth for Ozempic and Wegovy.
These developments are just the latest in a series of dramatic events surrounding the Danish pharmaceutical giant.