Novo Nordisk Appoints New President & CEO

Novo Nordisk has appointed Maziar Mike Doustdar as President and CEO, effective August 7, 2025. Doustdar succeeds Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, who will step down on the same date.

Doustdar, currently Novo Nordisk’s executive vice president of International Operations, has a track record of creating value and driving growth. Under his leadership over the past decade, Novo Nordisk’s International Operations have more than doubled sales.

Novo Nordisk Chair, Helge Lund, said: “Mike is an exceptional leader and has the unanimous support of the Board. We are confident that he is the best person to lead Novo Nordisk through its next growth phase.”

Experience

Doustdar became senior vice president of International Operations in 2013. Before that, Doustdar led Novo Nordisk’s Southeast Asia and Oceania commercial area out of Malaysia, following on from his leadership of the Middle East business. Prior to this, he was general manager based in Turkey and held leadership roles in finance and IT.

Doustdar holds a BA in International Business from Webster University, Vienna (1994), and completed executive education at Harvard Business School in Leadership & Strategy for Pharmaceutical & Biotech (2012).

“It’s an enormous privilege to lead this company at a time of tremendous opportunity and change,” said Doustdar. “I come to this role with a sense of urgency, a laser focus on high performance, and a fierce determination for Novo Nordisk to aim higher than it’s ever done, and to deliver to many more patients the innovation they need.”

Novo Nordisk also announced that it is merging Research & Early Development with Development into a new R&D unit led by Martin Holst Lange, who will also become Chief Scientific Officer. Marcus Schindler, the current CSO, is retiring. Emil Kongshøj Larsen will join Executive Management as Executive Vice President, International Operations.