Novo Nordisk chief amid top 10 CEO's in the world

Novo Nordisk's President and Chief Executive Lars Rebien Sørensen has been named one of the best-performing chief executives in the world in a new study by the Harvard Business Review.

Sørensen ranked sixth overall in the review's top-100, making him the only chief executive from a European company to break into the top 10, Novo Nordisk said in a statement yesterday.

The list is topped by Jeff Bezos of Amazon, while the rest of the top 10 are all based in either the US or Canada.

The study looked at companies listed in Standard & Poor's Global 1200 Index at the end of 2013, and ranked chiefs after examining metrics, including change in market capitalisation, total shareholder returns and company reputation.

During Sørensen's 14 years at the helm, the report found that Novo Nordisk has delivered industry-adjusted total shareholder returns (excluding increases attributable to an overall increase in fortunes for the pharmaceutical industry) of 1,214 percent, while its market capitalisation has risen by $101 billion.