Historic change in the future representation of the Carlsberg Foundation on the Supervisory Board of Carlsberg Group

Since the founding of the Carlsberg Foundation in 1876, the Foundation has been governed by a board consisting of five members elected by and amongst the Danish members of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters. Since 1970, when the Carlsberg Group became listed, all five members of the board of the Carlsberg Foundation have traditionally also been members of the Supervisory Board of the Carlsberg Group.

Today, the Carlsberg Foundation announces the decision that, at the Annual General Meeting in 2023, only two members of the Foundation board will be proposed as candidates for the Carlsberg Group’s Supervisory Board. One candidate will be the Chairman of the Carlsberg Foundation, who is intended to become Deputy Chairman of the Carlsberg Group Supervisory Board, while the other candidate will be elected from and by the Foundation board based on relevant competencies in relation to the Carlsberg Group Supervisory Board.

The Chairman of the Carlsberg Foundation and the Carlsberg Group, Professor Flemming Besenbacher, states: “The future change to the composition of the Supervisory Board are based on good corporate governance and considerations such as diversity, industry knowledge and global business experience, which must be represented on the board of a modern and progressive international company. The changes are also in line with other Danish enterprise foundations, which over the past years have implemented changes in their representation on the boards of the companies they control.”

“After 2023, the Carlsberg Foundation will remain the controlling shareholder in the Carlsberg Group in accordance with the Charter of the Carlsberg Foundation. Through its representation on the Supervisory Board, the Foundation will continuously ensure that the company always retain the highest quality, thinks and acts with a long-term view, attracts and attains a diverse pool of talents and contributes to a better tomorrow according to the purpose of Carlsberg.”

“We announce this important decision after a year where the Carlsberg Group has proven extremely resilient financially, and during the COVID-19 crisis has found relevant ways to support society that would have made our founding fathers proud.”

The Carlsberg Foundation continues to remain a committed owner for the Carlsberg Group.

The Carlsberg Group announced its full-year results on 5 February 2021.

The purpose of the Carlsberg Foundation

The Carlsberg Foundation was established on 25 September 1876, when brewer J.C. Jacobsen formulated the Charter of Denmark’s first enterprise foundation. The Carlsberg Foundation took over J.C. Jacobsen’s brewery, Old Carlsberg, in 1888 following the brewer’s death in 1887. In 2013, the Carlsberg Foundation Charter was amended to the effect that the Foundation would only be required to own a stake entitling it to at least 51 % of the votes in the Carlsberg Group. As of 31 December 2020, the Carlsberg Foundation held 29 % of the share capital and 75 % of the votes.

Dividends paid out on the Carlsberg Foundation’s shares in Carlsberg A/S are used by the Carlsberg Foundation, the New Carlsberg Foundation, and the Tuborg Foundation to support basic research, culture, art, and young communities as well as the Carlsberg Research Laboratory and two internationally acclaimed museums: Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek and the Museum of National History at Frederiksborg Castle.