Lars Rebien Sørensen, chief executive of Novo Nordisk, has clinched the top spot in Harvard Business Review's annual list of the world's best-performing chief executives.

He jumped over Jeff Bezos, CEO and founder of internet retail giant Amazon, to reach the top spot, Novo Nordisk said in a statement yesterday.

This year's ranking, which will appear in the respected business journal's November issue, looked at the CEOs' performance over their tenure, and for the first time also factored-in environmental, social and governance data along with financial results, the company said.

The revamped methodology pulled the Novo Nordisk's boss five notches up since his sixth-place finish in last year's rankings, according to the statement. 

“This is a huge pat on the back for all of us in Novo Nordisk. This acknowledgement is testament to the fact that I am CEO of a company with dedicated employees striving to defeat diabetes and other serious chronic conditions,” CEO Rebien said.

“I am especially pleased to see that success today is not just measured on financial performance, but also on how you can achieve your goals in an environmentally-friendly, socially responsible and sustainable way.”