Novo Nordisk names Mike Doustdar CEO weeks before 9,000-job restructuring

Maziar Mike Doustdar became president and chief executive officer of Novo Nordisk on 7 August 2025 ^[3]. The Danish drugmaker announced the appointment on 29 July 2025 and said he would succeed Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, who stepped down on the same date ^[3].

Doustdar joined Novo Nordisk in 1992 as an office clerk in Vienna ^[4]. For about a decade he led International Operations, the arm covering every commercial affiliate outside the United States, where sales more than doubled to roughly DKK 112 billion in 2024 ^[3]. He is the first person born outside Denmark to hold the top job since the company was founded in 1923 ^[4].

Board chair Helge Lund described him as "an exceptional leader" with unanimous board support, adding that Novo Nordisk "needs to address recent market challenges with speed and ambition" ^[3]. Doustdar said he took the role with "a sense of urgency" and a focus on performance ^[3].

Job cuts follow within weeks

On 10 September 2025, about a month into his tenure, Novo Nordisk said it would remove some 9,000 of its 78,400 positions, or close to 11.5% of the global workforce, with around 5,000 of those reductions expected in Denmark ^[1]. The company put the cost of the overhaul at 8 billion Danish kroner, about $1.26 billion, and lowered its forecast for full-year operating profit growth at constant exchange rates to 4% to 10%, down from the 10% to 16% guidance issued with second-quarter results in August ^[1]. Shares were up 4.1% in late-morning London trading on the day ^[1].

The kroner figure is described differently in different accounts. CNBC framed the DKK 8 billion as a one-off expense the cuts would create ^[1]. Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News described the same restructuring as intended to save DKK 8 billion, about $1.257 billion, by the end of 2026 ^[2].

Doustdar had already frozen hiring in non-critical areas and narrowed the company's focus to diabetes and obesity ^[4]. Novo Nordisk's own announcement listed about 77,400 employees across 80 countries ^[3], a slightly lower count than the 78,400 positions CNBC cited ^[1].

Why it matters for patients

Novo Nordisk says the restructuring is meant to simplify decision-making and move resources toward its diabetes and obesity business, the area that includes Ozempic and Wegovy ^[1]. The company has not disclosed which teams, sites or job types will be affected, and no change to the supply, availability or labeling of either medicine has been reported ^[1][3]. Whether the reductions reach manufacturing, shipping or pharmacy-facing roles is not yet known.

The backdrop is a US market where Novo Nordisk faces Eli Lilly, whose tirzepatide is sold as Mounjaro for type 2 diabetes and Zepbound for weight management ^[2]. Mounjaro brought in $9.041 billion in the first half of 2025, up 85% from a year earlier, and Zepbound $5.693 billion ^[2]. Lilly's orforglipron became the first oral GLP-1 drug to succeed in a Phase III trial ^[2]. Cheaper compounded versions of GLP-1 ingredients also draw sales away ^[1].

Novo Nordisk's own products remain large sellers. Ozempic generated DKK 64.5 billion, about $9.6 billion, in the first half of 2025, and Wegovy DKK 58.206 billion, about $9.144 billion ^[2]. Even so, the company's market value has dropped from a high of DKK 4.121 trillion ($647.95 billion) on 26 June 2024 to DKK 1.555 trillion ($244.473 billion), and its next-generation obesity candidate CagriSema produced lower-than-expected weight loss in late-stage testing ^[1][2].

What happens next

The other executive changes took effect 7 August 2025. Research & Early Development and Development were merged into one unit under Martin Holst Lange as chief scientific officer; Marcus Schindler, previously CSO, is retiring; and Emil Kongshøj Larsen took over International Operations ^[3]. No completion date for the 9,000 reductions has been disclosed ^[1].