New governance at LEO Pharma and LEO Foundation

Poul Rasmussen will retire at the end of this year as Chairman of LEO Pharma and Chairman of the LEO Foundation. Lars Olsen, Executive Vice President of Global Sales & Marketing at LEO Pharma, will succeed as Chairman of the LEO Foundation. Jukka Pertola, CEO of Siemens A/S and Deputy Chairman of LEO Pharma, will succeed as Chairman of LEO Pharma. As a consequence of his new position, Lars Olsen will cease to act in his current role and leave the company before the end of this year. The separation of the chairmanships marks the completion of a process to strengthen governance.

Poul Rasmussen, Chairman of LEO Pharma and Chairman of the LEO Foundation, has decided to retire at the end of this year. His retirement will bring to a close a remarkable career of more than 40 years of continuous service to LEO Pharma and the LEO Foundation. Poul Rasmussen will pass on his chairmanships to two successors; thereby completing a process he began several years ago to strengthen governance at LEO Pharma.

“It is with great confidence that I hand over the chairmanship of the LEO Foundation to Lars Olsen and the chairmanship of LEO Pharma to Jukka Pertola. With their strong professional backgrounds and personal characters, I am sure they will make valuable contributions in their separate roles towards securing the continued growth and long-term development of LEO Pharma. It also gives me great pleasure to look towards retirement having completed the important task I set for myself when I assumed my current positions: to strengthen governance at LEO Pharma,” says Poul Rasmussen.

Lars Olsen as future Chairman of the LEO Foundation

The LEO Foundation Board appoints Lars Olsen, Executive Vice President of Global Sales & Marketing at LEO Pharma, as the new Chairman of the LEO Foundation as of 1 January 2016. The succession has been planned for some time, with discussions spanning several years.

“I feel immensely privileged to be appointed as the new Chairman of the LEO Foundation and will endeavour to continue in Poul Rasmussen’s footsteps with solid, long-term planning. I am proud to have been part of LEO Pharma’s journey towards becoming a global dermatology company focused on helping people achieve healthy skin. In my new role, I will – together with the rest of the LEO Foundation Board – do my utmost to secure the continued long-term development and independence of LEO Pharma,” says Lars Olsen.

The succession for Lars Olsen will be announced soon, until which time he will continue to act in his current role. After the announcement and as a consequence of his new position, Lars Olsen will cease to play an active role in LEO Pharma’s daily operations and leave the company before the end of this year.

Jukka Pertola as future Chairman of LEO Pharma

The LEO Pharma Board appoints Jukka Pertola, CEO of Siemens A/S and currently Deputy Chairman of LEO Pharma, as the new Chairman as of 1 January 2016. With extensive executive management experience from a range of sectors, Jukka Pertola has a broad perspective that will support LEO Pharma’s efforts to expand its treatment offering and deliver integrated care through internal innovation and external partnerships.

“This is a very interesting time to be part of LEO Pharma and I am honoured to be appointed as the new company chairman. LEO Pharma has great potential for continued growth and realising its aim to help more than 70 million people in 2020. I look forward to taking LEO Pharma to the next stage of its exciting journey to make a difference to the lives of even more people worldwide,” says Jukka Pertola, who has been a board member for the past four years.