Novo CEO makes Fortune’s powerful leaders list

Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen of Novo Nordisk, known for pioneering diabetes and obesity treatments, has been ranked 29th on Fortune’s list of the 100 most powerful business leaders globally. This marks the first edition of the list, featuring Tesla’s Elon Musk at the top, followed by Nvidia’s Jensen Huang. Fortune highlights Jørgensen’s success with the diabetes drug Ozempic and the weight loss drug Wegovy, contributing to Novo’s 30% sales growth last year. He stands as the only Dane on the list, just ahead of Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks at 31. Other notable names include Apple’s Tim Cook and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos. Only two other Scandinavians and 17 women made the list, with GM’s Mary Barra being the highest-ranked woman. Factors such as company size, innovation, influence, career trajectory, and a desire to change the world were considered for the rankings.