New chair of the New Carlsberg Foundation from 2025

Sanne Kofod Olsen, who has broad and solid leadership experience from a number of senior positions in the art education and museum world, is to join the New Carlsberg Foundation on 1 January 2025 as its new chair of the board. Since 2023, Sanne Kofod Olsen has been vice-chancellor of the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm, having previously served as vice-chancellor of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen and dean of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Gothenburg. Her appointment is part of the continued strengthening of the foundation’s academic and strategic work.

Sanne Kofod Olsen has served on the New Carlsberg Foundation’s board since April this year and will take over the position of chair at a time when the New Carlsberg Foundation is in the process of modernising the foundation’s governance structure – most recently through optimisation of the skills composition of the board and the decision to hire a CEO.

Majken Schultz, chair of the board of the Carlsberg Foundation, which appoints the board of the New Carlsberg Foundation, says:

“With Sanne Kofod Olsen, the New Carlsberg Foundation is getting an extremely competent, experienced and visionary chair who can provide further impetus for the positive developments that the foundation is undergoing. Sanne is extremely well qualified to ensure that the New Carlsberg Foundation’s unique position in the Danish art world is safeguarded and developed in the best possible way, and we’re really looking forward to the ongoing collaboration between the two old foundations.”

Sanne Kofod Olsen says:

“I’m very much looking forward to working with the New Carlsberg Foundation’s continued development. Both in terms of governance and most of all, obviously, with the foundation’s interests and funding instruments, and thus with the foundation’s important role as a contributor to Danish art and art history. The first step is to find a CEO for the foundation who, together with the board and secretariat, will shape the future of the foundation. I’ve been familiar with the New Carlsberg Foundation throughout my years as an art historian, and for more than 100 years its importance has been unquestionable. It’s with great joy and humility that I’m taking up this important role in Danish art.”

A healthy platform

The appointment of Sanne Kofod Olsen is being made in light of a significant change in the governance structure of the New Carlsberg Foundation. The change, which is in accordance with good modern governance in large Danish foundations, entails the future hire of the foundation’s first CEO, and hence a clear functional separation of the board and management. This also means that Christine Buhl Andersen, chair of the board of the New Carlsberg Foundation since 2020, will be leaving the organisation.

Majken Schultz says:

“Historically, the role of the New Carlsberg Foundation’s board has included responsibility for both the general strategic management and the day-to-day management, which is not appropriate or in keeping with the times. The new division of roles means a fresh start, which requires new personnel, so the board of the Carlsberg Foundation has decided not to reappoint Christine Buhl Andersen when her appointment period expires at the end of 2024. The boards of the New Carlsberg Foundation and the Carlsberg Foundation would like to thank Christine for her outstanding contribution, especially in initiating the necessary transformation of the New Carlsberg Foundation’s governance structure. The foundation is in good shape and has a healthy platform to build on.”

Christine Buhl Andersen, chair of the board of the New Carlsberg Foundation, says:

“I’m very proud to have been allowed to lead the modernisation and transformation of the New Carlsberg Foundation. Since I joined the foundation, my focus has been on creating an open foundation based on good governance. This has been necessary to ensure the foundation’s continued legitimacy and relevance, and it is in keeping with the founders’ vision to bring living art to living people. With the new strategy that I’ve led the foundation is now focused on important issues such as greater diversity and new voices. And the foundation is now working with much greater openness, among other things with new funding instruments and partnerships that benefit the whole of the art ecosystem. The role I’ve filled is changing radically, and it’s a natural time for me to pass on the baton before embarking on a new chapter in my professional life.”

In addition to Sanne Kofod Olsen, the New Carlsberg Foundation’s board currently comprises Anders Byriel, CEO of Kvadrat A/S, Stine Høholt, director of Kunstmuseum Brandts, and Toke Lykkeberg, director of the Tranen exhibition space. Sanne Kofod Olsen will join as the new chair at the end of the year.

Later in the year, and in discussion with the New Carlsberg Foundation’s board, the Carlsberg Foundation will start recruiting a fifth board member for the New Carlsberg Foundation.

Recruitment of a CEO

Given the board composition, the New Carlsberg Foundation has decided to extend the ongoing process of recruiting a CEO.

Sanne Kofod Olsen, who will head up the appointment committee, says:

“The changed composition of our new board means we’re now putting a little bit more time into the ongoing recruitment process. Finding the right CEO for the New Carlsberg Foundation is a very important task that I and the other board members are really looking forward to.”

About Sanne Kofod Olsen

Sanne Kofod Olsen (born 1970) holds a cand.phil. and mag.art. in art history from the University of Copenhagen, a master’s in management development from CBS and has been vice-chancellor of the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm since 2023.

Since 2005, Sanne Kofod Olsen has been head of a number of leading art establishments. She was vice-chancellor of the Funen Art Academy (2005-2009) and of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts’ Schools of Visual Arts (2014-2018) as well as dean of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Gothenburg (2018-2023).

In addition to holding a number of significant positions of trust, Sanne Kofod Olsen has been involved in education, curating and research, both as an external associate professor at the University of Copenhagen and as director of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Roskilde (2009-2014). As a researcher, Sanne Kofod Olsen has worked in Danish and international art from the 1960s up to the present day, focusing in particular on American feminist art. Since the mid-1990s, she has curated various exhibitions and written about Danish and international contemporary art.

About the New Carlsberg Foundation

The New Carlsberg Foundation was established in 1902 by brewer Carl Jacobsen and his wife Ottilia, and is funded by revenue from the profits of Carlsberg A/S. Today, the New Carlsberg Foundation still works to realise Carl Jacobsen’s vision to make art accessible to the broadest possible public. The foundation’s board and its chair are appointed by the Carlsberg Foundation’s board following discussion with the serving members of the New Carlsberg Foundation’s board. 

About the Carlsberg Foundation

The Carlsberg Foundation was established by brewer J.C. Jacobsen in 1876. The Carlsberg Foundation is an enterprise foundation that supports independent basic research within the natural sciences, the humanities and the social sciences. The funds for awards and grants come primarily from the dividend paid by Carlsberg A/S, in which the Carlsberg Foundation has the controlling shareholding. The Carlsberg Foundation’s board is elected by and from among the ordinary members of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters.