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Management and governance

Demant employs a two-tier management structure, consisting of the Board of Directors and the Executive Leadership Team (which includes the Executive Board). The Board of Directors supervises the performance of the company, its management and organisation on behalf of the shareholders. It also contributes to determining the company strategy. The Executive Leadership Team, in turn, is responsible for the company's daily operations.

The Executive Leadership Team consists of four members: Søren Nielsen, President & CEO, René Schneider, Chief Financial Officer, Niels Wagner, President of Hearing Care and Anne-Karen Hunt, President of Diagnostics.

  • soren-nielsen-ceo

    Søren Nielsen,
    President & CEO
    President of Hearing Aids



     

     
  • demant_people_rene_schneider_cfo_210512_demant6170

    René Schneider, 
    CFO
    President of Group Services



  • demant_people_niels-wagner_9340

    Niels Wagner,
    President of Hearing Care




  • demant_people_management_anne_karen-hunt

    Anne-Karen Hunt,
    President of Diagnostics




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The Board of Directors of Demant A/S has seven members: four members elected by the shareholders at the general meeting and three members elected by employees in Demant's Danish companies.


The Board members elected by the shareholders are elected for one year at a time and staff-elected Board members for four years at a time. The last staff election took effect after the annual general meeting in March 2023.


The Board of Directors is responsible for the overall strategic management as well as the financial and managerial supervision of the company, and it currently evaluates the work of the Executive Leadership Team. The Board of Directors' duties and responsibilities are set out in its rules of procedure. These are revised once a year.

Demant's report on corporate governance in the company is accounted for here.




The Board of Directors has set up an audit committee, a nomination committee, a remuneration committee and an IT security committee.

 



Once a year, the Chairman of the Board of Directors performs an evaluation of the Board’s work. The evaluation is performed either through personal, individual interviews with the Board members or by means of a questionnaire to be filled out by the individual Board members. In both instances, the findings of the evaluation are presented and discussed at the subsequent Board meeting. At least every third year, the evaluation is performed with external assistance. The evaluation was performed through individual interviews with the Chair in 2022, as the evaluation the year before was performed by means of a questionnaire.

Overall, the evaluation confirmed that the Board is satisfied with its governance structures and also confirmed that the interaction between the Board members is well-functioning. The Board of Directors focuses on and allocates time to discuss the long-term strategic development of the company to continuously ensure that the potential of the company is exploited to the fullest. The collaboration between the Board of Directors and the Executive Leadership Team works well, and there is an open and trustful working atmosphere. The work performed by the Board takes its starting point in the annual wheel, which is continuously refined and updated and ensures the Board’s commitment and immersion into relevant areas.

The Board of Directors continuously strives to ensure that between them the Board members have the relevant knowledge and professional experience required to fulfil the company’s needs. These competences must cover the following areas:

  • International leadership experience at corporate level
  • Board experience from listed companies with international operations
  • Industrial leadership experience
  • Insight into globalisation challenges
  • Profound knowledge of economics and finance
  • Board experience from multiple lines of business
  • Experience with digitalization of business
  • Insight into and knowledge of the political aspects of business
  • Academic level of education

Though Board members are up for election every year, they traditionally sit on the Board for an extended number of years. This ensures consistency and maximum insight into the conditions prevailing in the company and in the industry. This is considered to be extremely important in terms of the value that the Board of Directors brings to the company. In fact, it is considered just as important as the professional skills listed above.

The remuneration of the Board of Directors and the Executive Board is designed to support the strategic goals and to generate value in Demant and thus support Demant’s business strategy. Additionally, the remuneration policy supports a straightforward and transparent remuneration structure for the Board of Directors and the Executive Board. The remuneration policy was adopted at the Annual General Meeting held in 2023.  

Remuneration reports are published annually.

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The Remuneration Report for 2023 is available here


In 2023, the Board of Directors convened on seven occasions.

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  • Corporate-governance

    Corporate governance

    Read more about our work on corporate governance, which we consider an ongoing process that is up for regular assessment.

     

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