Mike Doustdar, From Vienna Office Clerk to Novo Nordisk CEO
Maziar Mike Doustdar became president and chief executive of Novo Nordisk in August 2025, 33 years after he joined the Danish drugmaker as an office clerk in Vienna. He succeeded Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen. Doustdar is an Austrian national who was born in Iran and grew up in the United States.
| Role | President and Chief Executive Officer |
|---|---|
| Company | Novo Nordisk A/S |
| Headquarters | Bagsværd, Denmark |
| Industry | Healthcare |
| In role since | 2025 |
| Born | 1970, Iran |
| Education | BA in International Business, Webster University Vienna (1994) |
| Company website | novonordisk.com |
Three Decades in Novo Nordisk’s International Business
Doustdar has spent his whole career at Novo Nordisk, mostly in markets outside the United States. He also completed an executive programme at Harvard Business School in 2012.
- 1992: joined Novo Nordisk as an office clerk in Vienna, Austria
- 1993 to 2007: roles in finance, IT, logistics, operations and marketing across emerging markets
- 2007: general manager, Novo Nordisk Near East
- 2010: vice president, Business Area Near East
- 2012: moved to Malaysia to head Business Area Oceania South East Asia
- 2013: senior vice president, International Operations
- 2015: executive vice president, International Operations, a role that by 2025 covered all commercial units outside the United States
- August 2025: president and CEO
He is a former member of the board of directors of Orion Corporation.
Novo Nordisk’s Diabetes and Obesity Medicines
Novo Nordisk traces its origins to 1923, and the present company was formed through a merger in 1989. Its products include the diabetes and obesity medicines Ozempic, Wegovy and Tresiba, as well as NovoSeven. For 2025 Novo Nordisk posted sales of DKK 309.1 billion, up 6 percent in Danish kroner and 10 percent at constant exchange rates, with operating profit of DKK 127.7 billion. Obesity care sales grew 26 percent in Danish kroner.
Restructuring and New Launches Under Doustdar
In September 2025 the company announced a plan to cut about 9,000 jobs from a workforce of 78,400, including about 5,000 in Denmark, with a target of DKK 8 billion in annual savings by the end of 2026. The Wegovy pill, an oral form of semaglutide for obesity, launched in the United States on 5 January 2026 after FDA approval and passed 3 million prescriptions within months. Novo Nordisk also submitted CagriSema to the FDA in December 2025.
Novo Nordisk Pages and Filings Behind This Profile
- Maziar Mike Doustdar, Executive Management, Novo Nordisk
- Novo Nordisk sales increased by 6% in Danish kroner to DKK 309.1 billion in 2025, Investegate
- Novo Nordisk to lay off 9,000 workers as new CEO aims to save $1.3B per year, Fierce Biotech
- Mike Doustdar on his first year as Novo Nordisk CEO, Fierce Pharma
- Maziar Mike Doustdar, Wikipedia
- Novo Nordisk, Wikipedia
