Thomas Schäfer, executive vice president & chief scientific officer, and member of the executive board will step down from these roles of Chr. Hansen Holding A/S, effective March 31, 2022. Schäfer has been with the company since November 2017.

During Schäfer’s four and a half years with the company, he brought significant scientific knowledge to the company and strengthened the way Chr. Hansen approaches science.

“We continue to move forward with our strong science platform and our journey of a customer centric and agile innovation organization,” the company said.

As of April 1, 2022, Henrik Joerck Nielsen, currently senior vice president of Animal Health, will be promoted to chief scientific officer. Henrik has a Ph.D. in biotechnology from the Technical University of Denmark and National Institute of Health in Maryland. He did his post-doctoral research fellow at the National Cancer Institute in the U.S. After being with McKinsey six years, he joined Chr. Hansen in 2014. Henrik brings a strong science and commercial experience to his new role.

Schäfer will continue as chief science advisor to CEO Mauricio Graber, as well as continue as member of the board of directors in Bacthera AG, Chr. Hansen’s Joint Venture with Lonza AG, and the BioInnovation institute as Chr. Hansen’s representative.

Mauricio Graber, CEO of Chr. Hansen, said: “I would like to thank Thomas for his contribution to Chr. Hansen and I look forward to continuing working with Thomas in his new role as Chief Science Advisor. At the same time, I would like to congratulate Henrik on his new position as Chief Scientific Officer, as we embark on the next journey as a bioscience-based company.”

Following the change, the executive board will consist of CEO Mauricio Graber and CFO Lise Mortensen. The executive board is appointed by the board of directors and is responsible for the day-to-day management of the company within the guidelines and directions given by the board of directors.