Board
The board of Villum Foundation is self-elective and aims for a composition where members have broad insight into the areas supported by the foundation.
The board’s responsibilities
The board holds four annual meetings.
In addition to board meetings, board members participate in an annual strategy day, and the chair also participates in preliminary meetings etc.
As a general rule, the individual board members also participate in one or more of the foundation’s working groups and committees, which have the same meeting frequency as the board.
Election to the board
According to the Trust Deed, all board members must be ‘competent, reputable, trustworthy and mature individuals, half of whom must be residents of Denmark.’
In addition, four of the members should be ‘business savvy’ and one of the members should ‘have or have been associated with the VKR Group’.
A member must be a descendant of the foundation’s founder, Villum Kann Rasmussen.
Board members can serve a maximum of 10 years (descendants of Villum Kann Rasmussen, however, can serve up to 15 years), the age limit is 75 years, and one board member is up for election each year in a predetermined order. A new board member enters into the same position as their predecessor.
Chair
(Born 1969)
MSc (Eng), former department head at VELUX A/S
Elected to the board at the annual meeting on 11 March 2014. Acting chair every year since 2015. Re-elected 2017 and 2023. Extended in 2024 after 10 years of service, extended with 1 year at the annual meeting in 2025, with the possibility of further extension each year until 2029, according to the trust deed § 4.
Member of the foundation’s working group for Culture and society, the investment committee and the nomination committee.
Special competencies under the Trust Deed: Descendent of founder Villum Kann Rasmussen (grandchild), business savvy, former employee of VELUX A/S.
Holdings in subsidiaries and/or associated companies:
The chair owns A and B shares in VKR Holding A/S.
Remuneration from the foundation’s subsidiaries and associated companies: No.
Considered independent: No, shareholder in the VKR Group.
Other boards, etc.:
- ApS JERA, chair
- Trafalgar Estate Limited, chair
- ApS GIN, board member
- ADDEK ApS, board member
Wide Invest ApS, board member
Vice-chair
(Born 1960)
MA in history and comparative literature, former Minister for the Environment, Minister for Climate and Energy, EU Commissioner, etc.
Joined the board at the annual meeting on 20 March 2023. Up for re-election in 2026. May serve on the board until 2033.
Member of the working group for social initiatives abroad and the working group for children, youth and science.
Special competencies under the Trust Deed: Business savvy
Considered independent: No, due to chair of KR Foundation and CONCITO
Other boards, etc.:
- KR Foundation, chair
- CONCITO, chair
- EU framework programme: Adaptation to climate change, including transformation of society, chair
- OECD’s Round Table for Sustainable Development, chair
- Grønnegårds Teatret, chair
- of Fonden Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping, vice-chair
- Fonden af 28. maj 1948, chair
- KIRKBI A/S, member of the board
- Danfoss A/S, member of the board
- European Climate Foundation, member of supervisory board
Board member
(Born 1963)
Former Executive Director of Tv2 Danmark A/S
Elected to the board on 18 March 2025. May serve on the board until 2035.
Special competencies under the Trust Deed: Business savvy.
Considered independent: No, due to chair of Copenhagen University
Other boards, etc.:
- University of Copenhagen, chair
- Nykredit A/S og Nykredit Realkredit A/S, chair
- Egmont Foundation, chair
- Egmont International A/S, chair
- Falck A/S, board member
- Greenland Airports International A/S, board member
- Molslinjen A/S (now NFI A/S), board member
- Realdania board of representatives, member
- Think Tank Justitia, board member
- DJØF (The Danish Association of Lawyers and Economists), political reviewer
- Expert Committee for a Well-Run Defense (The Danish Ministry of Defence), member
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Board member
(B. 1977)
CEO, The Finance Administration, the City of Copenhagen
Elected to the board at the annual meeting on 18 March 2025. May serve on the board until 2035.
Member of the working group for European Youth and Education and Children, youth and science in Denmark.
Considered independent: Yes
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Board member
(Born 1963)
Professor, Dr.techn., PhD, Aalborg University, Department of Computer Science
Elected to the board at the annual meeting on 13 March 2018. Re-elected in 2021. Up for re-election in 2027. May serve on the board until 2028.
Member of the working group for technical and natural sciences.
Considered independent: Yes.
Other boards, etc.:
- Scientific Advisory Board, Norwegian Research Center for AI Innovation, chair
- Danish National Research Foundation, vice-chair
- Association for Computing Machinery, fellow
- Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, fellow
- Academia Europaea, member
- The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, member
- The Danish Academy of Technical Sciences (ATV), member
- Springer Nature European Research Advisory Council, member
Board member
(born 1956)
Former Executive director of VELUX A/S (2001-2017)
Elected to the board at the annual meeting on 20 March 2019. Re-elected in 2024. May serve on the board until 2029.
Member of the working group for Culture and society, the investment committee and the nomination committee
Special competencies under the Trust Deed: Business savvy, former executive director VELUX A/S.
Remuneration from the foundation’s subsidiaries and associated companies: Member of the Board of Directors of VKR Holding A/S, receives the remuneration set by the general meeting.
Considered independent: Yes.
Other boards, etc.:
- Dronning Margrethe II’s Arkæologiske Fond, board member
- Maj Invest Holding A/S, Fondsmæglerselskabet Maj Invest A/S and Maj Invest Equity A/S, board member
- ROCKWOOL A/S, deputy chairman of the board
- VKR Holding A/S, board member
- Think Tank Europe, chair
Remunerations
The Foundation’s board members receive a fixed remuneration of DKK 341,500 per year. The chair’s remuneration amounts to 2.5 times the ordinary remuneration and the deputy chairman’s 1.67 times the ordinary remuneration per year. Observers receive DKK 116,500 per year. Board members also receive remuneration for any efforts in the foundations’ working groups and committees.
In 2024, the board received the following remuneration:
- Jens V. Kann-Rasmussen (chairman) had renounced remuneration for his board, working group and committee positions
- Eva Zeuthen Bentsen received a total of DKK 759,500
- Connie Hedegaard Koksbang received a total of DKK 505,500
- Anja Boisen received a total of DKK 514,500
- Jørgen Tang-Jensen received a total of DKK 637,000
- Christian Søndergaard Jensen received a total of DKK 494,500
- Kristian H. Kann-Rasmussen (observer) received a total of DKK 116,500