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New COWI CEO 

Photo: Morten Larsen
Lars-Peter Søbye, Rasmus Ødum and Klaus H. Ostenfeld.
Lars-Peter Søbye is to be the new CEO of the COWI Group. He is replacing Klaus H. Ostenfeld who is stepping down from his post in a planned handover to the next generation in the consultancy company.

COWI’s Board of Directors has appointed the current Executive Vice President for COWI Denmark, Lars-Peter Søbye, 48, the new CEO of the COWI Group. He will take over from Klaus H. Ostenfeld, 65.

At the same time Rasmus Ødum, 42, Vice President of the Geographical Information and IT business unit, will take over as Executive Vice President with responsibility for COWI Denmark. This move will bring him onto the Executive Board as of today’s date.

"It is extremely satisfying that two such highly qualified candidates could be identified in- house for the top jobs. The new CEO and Executive Vice President have achieved excellent results in their field and are ready for new challenges,” says Henrik Gürtler, Chairman of the Board of Directors. The change of leadership will take place on 1 October 2008.

Planned handover to the next generation

These new appointments are part of a planned handover to the next generation which will ensure continuity in the development process which is under way in the Group.

COWI is implementing an ambitious Strategy 2010, which has involved transforming the organisation from a large, dominant Danish parent company with a clutch of subsidiaries into a "one company network" with five strong regions: Denmark, Norway, East EU, the Arabian Gulf and Africa. The strategy also involves a new approach to staff development and a new aim to deliver world class consultancy services.

Lars-Peter Søbye

As Executive Vice President, Denmark, Lars-Peter Søbye has been the driving force behind the implementation of the Danish strand of COWI’s Strategy 2010, focussing heavily on employee involvement and on developing customer relations and consultancy processes.

He has an M.Sc. in engineering and has been with COWI since 1986. The last 10 years have seen him heavily involved with management and organisational development in Denmark and internationally, experience which will stand him in good stead in taking the Group forward:

"We are known for our professional excellence and thanks to our sound financial basis we are in a position to devote additional resources to the task of developing relations and new ways of working with our customers. At the same time we keep going full steam ahead in taking the five regions of the COWI Group forward," says Lars-Peter Søbye.

Rasmus Ødum

Rasmus Ødum has been with COWI since 1997, most recently as Vice President of the Geographical Information and IT business unit. He holds a M.Sc. in agricultural economics with considerable international experience from working in Europe, Central America, Africa and South East Asia.

Rasmus Ødum is known as a development-oriented, strategically thinking Vice President with a talent for harmonising business with the market.

Vigorous internationalisation

In his eight years as President and CEO, Klaus H. Ostenfeld spearheaded the vigorous internationalisation of the Group, the doubling of staff numbers and not only engendered the vision behind the Group’s Strategy 2010 but also directed its implementation.

"COWI is in the middle of one of the most exciting periods of development in its history. With these new appointments COWI is in a strong position to sustain its development," says Klaus H. Ostenfeld.

COWI’s rules require its president to retire at the end of the year in which he or she turns 65. Klaus H. Ostenfeld will carry on his work as a member of the COWIfonden Board and in honorary posts such as Vice President and Chairman of the Board of Finance of the Danish Academy of Technical Sciences (ATV), Chairman of the IABSE Foundation in Zürich and Chairman of the hall of residence, G. A Hagemanns Kollegium.

By staff writers
Posted: 18.06.2008

LAST UPDATED: 15.06.2010