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 2026, 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: Descendant 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
- Skovlyst Skovdistrikt, owner
Vice-chair
(Born 1960)
MA in history and comparative literature, former Minister for the Environment, Minister for Climate and Energy, former EU Commissioner, etc.
Joined the board at the annual meeting on 20 March 2023. Re-elected 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: Yes
Other boards, etc.:
- EU framework programme: Adaptation to climate change, including transformation of society, chair
- OECD’s Round Table for Sustainable Development, chair
- Grønnegårds Teatret, chair
- Danish Cancer Society, president
- Fonden Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping, vice-chair
- Foundation of 28 May 1948, member
- Danfoss A/S, member of the board
- Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, member (director)
- Gazelle Wind Power Ltd., advisor to the board
Board member
(Born 1963)
Former Executive Director of TV 2 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.:
- Copenhagen University, chair
- Nykredit A/S og Nykredit Realkredit A/S, chair
- Egmont Foundation, chair
- Egmont International A/S, chair
- Think Tank Justitia, board member
- Realdania board of representatives, member
- EJENDOMSSELSKABET GOTHERSGADE 55 ApS, chair
- EJENDOMSSELSKABET VOGNMAGERGADE 11 ApS, chair
- Greenland Airports International A/S / Kalaallit Airports International A/S, board member
- Falck A/S, board member
- NFI A/S, board member
- 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 and the Annual Award committee.
Considered independent: Yes.
Other boards, etc.:
- Danish National Research Foundation, vice chair
- Norwegian Research Center for AI Innovation, Scientific Advisory Board, chair
- Springer Nature European Research Advisory Council, member
- ACM SIGMOD Advisory Board, member
- Academia Europaea, member
- The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, member
- The Danish Academy of Technical Sciences (ATV), member
- Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, fellow
- Association for Computing Machinery, fellow
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.:
- Think Tank Europe, chair
- ROCKWOOL A/S, vice chair
- VKR Holding A/S, board member
- Maj Invest Equity A/S, board member
- Maj Invest Holding A/S, board member
- Fondsmæglerselskabet Maj Invest A/S, board member
- Dronning Margrethe II's Arkæologiske Fond, board member
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Observer
(born 2001)
Bachelor’s degree student in Architectural Technology and Construction Management
Elected to the board at the board meeting on 16 September 2025.
Special competencies under the Trust Deed: Descendent of founder Villum Kann Rasmussen (great-grandchild).
Considered independent: No.
Other boards, etc.: None.
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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
- Connie Hedegaard Koksbang received a total of DKK 662,700
- Merete Eldrup received a total of DKK 278,400
- Søren Hartmann Hede, received a total of DKK 341,400
- Christian Søndergaard Jensen received a total of DKK 544,500
- Jørgen Tang-Jensen received a total of DKK 599,500
- Keenan Wilson (observer) received a total of DKK 71,400