Christoffer Lorenzen appointed CEO of Karo Pharma; Peter Blom resigning.
The Board of Karo Pharma Aktiebolag (publ) (“Karo Pharma”) has appointed Christoffer Lorenzen as the new CEO of Karo Pharma, replacing Peter Blom. Christoffer will take on his new position on July 1, 2019. Up until this date, and effective as of today, Ulf Mattsson assumes the CEO position on an interim basis.
Karo Pharma has grown rapidly in recent years fueled by the acquisitions of BioPhausia in 2016, Weifa in 2017 and a product portfolio from Leo Pharma in 2018. In January 2019, EQT, one of the largest private equity investors in Europe, through Karo Intressenter AB, acquired a majority stake in Karo Pharma.
In relation to the new ownership structure of Karo Pharma, Peter Blom initiated discussions with the Board of Directors to resign from his position as CEO.
“I feel very proud of the company that I have been part of building, but now is a suitable time to hand over to a new CEO”, says Peter Blom, outgoing CEO of Karo Pharma.
“Peter Blom has been an instrumental part of successfully building Karo Pharma through acquisitions and effective integration of established brands as well as launching new products. I want to thank Peter for his time and important contribution to Karo Pharma’s success and wish him all the best in the future,” says Bo Jesper Hansen, Karo Pharma’s Chairman of the Board.
“I am pleased to welcome Christoffer as the new CEO of the company. Christoffer brings international experience and has a solid track record of delivering both top-line and bottom-line growth from Chr. Hansen and Lundbeck. I look forward to, through the board, supporting Christoffer in continuing to develop Karo Pharma”, says Bo Jesper Hansen.
Christoffer Lorenzen, born 1975, is currently an Executive Vice President and member of the Executive Board of Chr. Hansen Holding A/S, which is listed on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange. He holds an M.Sc. in Marketing from the Copenhagen Business School and is a board member of Hamlet Protein and Vice Chairman of the Board of the European Food & Feed Cultures Association. He has previously been Head of Corporate Strategy at H. Lundbeck A/S. In February this year, he was elected as a board member of Karo Pharma, a position he will step down from in connection with Karo Pharma’s next Annual General Meeting.
“I am excited about joining Karo Pharma. It is a young company in its present form, and it has great potential. Together with the Board, the employees at Karo Pharma and our business partners, I look forward to the journey ahead and to continue to build the company and create value for all shareholders”, says Christoffer Lorenzen.
Ulf Mattsson has been an industrial advisor to EQT over 10 year. He has been CEO of Gambro, Capio, Mölnlycke Healthcare and Domco Tarkett and lived in Sweden, Germany, UK, US and Canada. Furthermore, Ulf has held several non-executive directorships in public and private companies.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Mats-Olof Wallin +46 76 002 60 10
ABOUT KARO PHARMA
Karo Pharma is a Specialty Pharma company, which develops and markets products for pharmacies as well as directly to the healthcare sector. Karo Pharma is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm Mid Cap.
This information is information that Karo Pharma Aktiebolag (publ) is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, on April 3 2019, at 8.00 CET. This press release is also available at www.karohealthcare.se and www.newsroom.cision.com.