Jørgen Vig Knudstorp
Danish businessman (born 1968)
Jørgen Vig Knudstorp (born 21 November 1968) is a Danish businessman who is the Chairman of the Foundation and Supervisory Boards at IMD Business School since 1 January 2026. He currently serves as Deputy chair of the LEGO Foundation and chair of BrainPOP Education Inc.2
From Wikipedia’s article on Jørgen Vig Knudstorp (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.
Born Nov 21, 1968.1
About
He is also lead independent director of Starbucks Corporation and a member of Nike's board of directors.
From Wikipedia’s article on Jørgen Vig Knudstorp, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.2
Companies
- The Lego GroupBoard member May 1, 2017 to now10
- LEGO FoundationBoard member Jan 28, 2014 to now11
Early life and education
- Date not recordedAarhus University3
- Date not recordedAarhus School of Business3
- Date not recordedFredericia Gymnasium3
Knudstorp was born on 21 November 1968 in Fredericia, Denmark. He graduated from Fredericia Gymnasium before attending Aarhus University.
After obtaining his undergraduate degree in economics, Knudstorp began an academic career as a researcher at his alma mater as well as obtaining a master's degree (1995) and a PhD (1998) in Economics from Aarhus University. He stayed in academia, but worked as a business consultant from 1998 to 2000.
From Wikipedia’s article on Jørgen Vig Knudstorp (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.
Career
Occupation: businessperson, business executive.7
- Since 2017Board member, The Lego Group6
- Since 2014Board member, LEGO Foundation5
- Date not recordedWorked at The Lego Group4
Jørgen Vig Knudstorp joined the LEGO Group in 2001 after working as a McKinsey & Company consultant
and university researcher at Aarhus University. In 2004, he was selected as the company's next leader. He was the second person from outside the family of Ole Kirk Christiansen to lead the company (the first one being Vagn Holck Andersen between 1973 and 1979), and is widely credited with turning it around from failure.
Under Knudstorp's tenure, LEGO's yearly income went from a loss to drawing a notable profit. In 2016, the company experienced a 600% increase in turnover, from 6.3 billion to 37.9 billion. In December 2016, it was announced that Knudstorp would step down as CEO of LEGO, and instead take the position of chairman of the group. He was succeeded by Bali Padda.
From Wikipedia’s article on Jørgen Vig Knudstorp (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.
Personal life
Knudstorp is married to a medical doctor, Vanessa, with whom he has four children.
From Wikipedia’s article on Jørgen Vig Knudstorp (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.
Links
Sources
The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.
- 1WikidataJørgen Vig Knudstorp on Wikidata
- 2WikipediaJørgen Vig Knudstorp on Wikipedia
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- 10WikidataThe Lego Group, Board member
- 11WikidataLEGO Foundation, Board member
- 12Wikimedia CommonsJørgen Vig Knudstorp photo by Hidden Isomorph, CC BY-SA 3.0