Novo Nordisk Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer (CAIO)

Are you a visionary leader with a proven history in applying AI at an enterprise level? Do you have the drive to lead a global AI transformation to defeat chronic diseases? Novo Nordisk is seeking a CAIO to spearhead our enterprise-wide AI initiatives and revolutionize how we discover, develop, and deliver life-saving treatments. If this sounds like your next challenge, read on and apply today.

The Position

Novo Nordisk is a global leader in healthcare, built on a century of innovation and commitment to defeating serious chronic diseases like diabetes and obesity. We are now accelerating a massive, enterprise-wide AI transformation and are seeking a visionary CAIO to drive this mission. The role can be based in Copenhagen (Denmark), Princeton (US), or Zürich (Switzerland).

This is a pivotal executive leadership position, reporting directly to the Executive Vice President of Enterprise IT, with the mandate to embed AI into the core DNA of our global operations. If you are an experienced AI leader from a fast-paced, commercial industry ready to apply your success to a deeply meaningful healthcare purpose, this is your next challenge.

As the CAIO, you will be the ultimate owner of applying AI across the entire Novo Nordisk value chain. You will lead Enterprise AI, an organization of 300 employees spanning Denmark and the US.

Your primary responsibilities include:

• Define and Deploy the strategy and plan for applying AI across the enterprise: Define, own, and coordinate the deployment of AI, ensuring it accelerates our strategic ambitions in research, clinical, and commercial operations.
• Organizational Leadership: Lead the Enterprise AI organisation, driving talent management, people development, and ensuring a robust leadership pipeline within Enterprise AI.
• Platform & Architecture Ownership: Define and own the global AI domain and platform architecture. Lead platform engineering to build and serve a scalable, state-of-the-art global AI platform that drives business outcomes at speed.
• Responsible AI: Drive the development and maintenance of all AI, analytics, and automation solutions, with a critical focus on establishing and ensuring responsible, compliant use of AI across the organisation.
• Execution and Transformation: Drive the operating model transformation and ensure scalable AI solutions are delivered across the global value chain, moving from strategy to measurable business impact.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Build and maintain strong, influential relationships with senior business management, key external vendors, data providers, and global AI experts.

Qualifications

We require a seasoned executive who balances deep technical authority with proven leadership and execution capability, capable of leading transformation in a complex environment.

Essential Qualifications:

• Pioneering Senior Leadership: Proven experience in a senior leadership role from a large corporate organization that has been one of the first movers in applying AI to fundamentally strengthen the business. Your industry background is not necessarily from the pharmaceutical industry.
• Commercial AI Execution: Demonstrated expertise in utilizing AI to drive strategic focus and tangible business outcomes, particularly within the commercial side of an industry outside of Pharma (e.g., FMCG, Retail, Technology, Finance, etc.). You are not just a speaker, but a proven executer, and you have experienced both the opportunities and limitations of applied AI.
• Global Transformation: Demonstrated ability to execute and deploy operating models, drive complex organizational transformation, and deliver scalable AI solutions across a global value chain.
• Architectural Mastery: Deep understanding of global AI domain and platform architecture, including experience defining tech stack standards and conducting technical feasibility studies.
• Global People Leadership: Proven experience leading globally distributed, multi-cultural teams, fostering a culture of innovation and high performance.
• Education: A minimum of an M.Sc. in a relevant technical or quantitative field.

About the Department

Reporting to our Executive VP of Enterprise IT, you head up Enterprise AI, an organisation of 300 employees. Your peers in Enterprise IT are heading up IT Infrastructure & Security and Enterprise Platforms & Master Data. In addition, each of the functional areas across Novo Nordisk has a Digital Lead with a mandate and a responsibility for the digital portfolio and lifecycle management. The Digital Leads are part of the Enterprise IT leadership team with a dotted line ensuring strong business ownership and close connection to execution.

Our mission is to harness the power of AI and integrate it seamlessly into Novo Nordisk’s operations. We serve as the vital link, weaving together AI initiatives throughout the organisation to realize our strategic ambitions through business-relevant initiatives. Our team operates across Denmark and the US, fostering a collaborative and innovative atmosphere that drives transformative change.

Contact and Deadline

For further information, please contact Senior Executive Search Partner Jacob Dahl Nielsen at jcdn@novonordisk.com or get to know us better by visiting www.novonordisk.com/careers. Apply by 23 November 2025 at the latest. We commit to an inclusive recruitment process and equality of opportunity for all our job applicants.

We commit to an inclusive recruitment process and equality of opportunity for all our job applicants. 

We’re not your typical healthcare company. In a modern world of quick fixes, we focus on solutions to defeat serious chronic diseases and promote long-term health. Our unordinary mindset is at the heart of everything we do. We seek out new ideas and put people first as we push the boundaries of science, make healthcare more accessible, and treat, prevent, and even cure diseases that affect millions of lives. Because it takes an unordinary approach to drive real, lasting change in health.