Novo Nordisk appoints new executive vice president

Novo Nordisk has announced Jakob Riis as its new executive vice president, head of North America Operations after the resignation of the president of Novo Nordisk Inc. from the company.

Jakob Riis will remain with Novo Nordisk in a transition period to help ensure a smooth handover.

Effective today, Doug Langa, senior vice president for Market Access, Novo Nordisk Inc., has been appointed senior vice president, head of North America Operations and president of Novo Nordisk Inc. He will report to Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, president and CEO, Novo Nordisk A/S.

Göran Ando, chairman of the Board of Directors of Novo Nordisk A/S, said: "We are of course sad to see Jakob Riis leave. He has done a great job throughout his career in Novo Nordisk, and we wish him all the best. We welcome Doug Langa as our new head of North America Operations. Doug's experience in the US pharmaceutical market, his leadership skills and expertise in the area of market access make him the natural successor to Jakob Riis."

Doug Langa is senior Vice president, Market Access and a member of Novo Nordisk's US leadership team. He joined the company in 2011 as senior director, Managed Markets. He came from GlaxoSmithKline where he was senior director of Payer Marketing. Prior to GSK, Doug Langa spent the majority of his career at Johnson & Johnson, where he held various roles of increasing responsibility within Managed Markets, Sales Leadership and Marketing. He has over 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and medical device industry. He graduated from Widener University and earned his MBA from Fordham University.