Novo Nordisk page lists Knudsen as CFO amid inability to confirm report of his departure
Key Facts
There is no publicly available confirmation of a report that Karsten Munk Knudsen is leaving his position at Novo Nordisk, while the company’s executive leadership page continues to list him as executive vice president and chief financial officer. That puts his employment status at the center of follow-up on the circulating report, without confirming that a resignation has occurred or specifying a departure date. An initial statement about his resignation or possible reasons for it could not be verified. The approved information also contains no details about a CFO succession plan. The potential development comes on a day the company set aside to announce its financial results for the first nine months of the year.
Knudsen’s tenure at the company dates back to 1999, when he joined Novo Nordisk. In February 2018, he was promoted to executive vice president and chief financial officer, according to the biography published on the company’s website. The official page currently lists him in both roles, making confirmation of any change to his executive position the main issue awaiting clarification. The available information contains no details about arrangements to transfer financial responsibilities or name a successor. The company’s announcement and any update to its executive leadership page therefore remain directly relevant to the report.
Novo Nordisk announced its results for the first nine months of 2026 on 4 November and scheduled its investor call for 13:00 to 14:00 Central European Time, according to its official results page. This puts the results and management call at the forefront of investor attention on the same day. The company’s previous report, issued on 4 August, indicated 7% growth in second-quarter adjusted sales at constant exchange rates. In that report, the company said it expected adjusted sales and operating profit growth for 2026 to range between 0% and -6% at constant exchange rates. It also reported adjusted operating profit of 33,389 million Danish kroner, up 11% at constant exchange rates in the second quarter.
CEO Mike Doustdar linked the company’s continued growth to its Wegovy portfolio in the second-quarter results announcement, describing it as “a key growth driver for Novo Nordisk in 2026.” The announcement at the time attributed the raised outlook to momentum in GLP-1 medicines in the United States, as well as growth and new launches in international operations. Those comments provide context for the company’s performance ahead of the nine-month results, but do not establish whether Knudsen will leave his position. The latest period’s results and the investor call remain the next scheduled opportunities to follow what management announces.
In the stock market, NVO closed at $40.19 on 3 November, after closing at $40.45 on 2 November, according to EL7 data. That close ahead of the nine-month results announcement places the stock within the timeline investors are following. This sequence does not establish a link between the share-price move and the report of the CFO’s departure, as the timing of the report and its confirmation could not be verified. The stock remains tied to available trading data and to what the company officially announces about its results and executive leadership.