VELUX Group appoints new CEO

VELUX Group appoints Lars Petersson as new CEO to replace David Briggs who is retiring. Lars Petersson is currently President and CEO in Hempel and will join VELUX on 1 November 2022. Anders Götzsche, CFO of VELUX will act as interim CEO until then.

Lars Petersson comes from a position as President and CEO in Hempel, a Danish-based global company in the coating industry. Prior to Hempel, Lars Petersson has held top management positions in Inwido, a Swedish windows and doors manufacturer, and French flooring manufacturer Tarkett. Since 2019, Lars Petersson has been member of the Board in the VKR company Dovista.

Lars Petersson brings extensive experience and a strong track-record from global manufacturing companies in related industries. Under his leadership, Hempel has successfully launched an ambitious growth strategy with a clear focus on customers and an equally strong commitment to take leadership within sustainability. I am confident that we have found the right person in Lars to lead the continued development of VELUX – says Jørgen Jensen, Chairman of the Board at VELUX Group.

I am honoured and excited that I have been given the opportunity to lead the VELUX Group forward. I have been working in the building materials industry for two decades and have always admired VELUX for its powerful brand and quality – the company has a great legacy of defining an entire industry while maintaining a strong sense of social responsibility. I truly look forward to becoming part of VELUX, and to help realise the ambitions set out in the recently launched strategy to grow the company while raising the bar for running a sustainable business – says Lars Petersson.

On a personal level, Lars Petersson is 53 years old and Swedish. He lives in the Copenhagen area with his wife Annica with whom he has two grown-up children.

David Briggs to retire from VELUX 

After five years at the helm of the VELUX Group, David Briggs will step down as CEO in September.

David has had a successful career with VELUX spanning almost 30 years, and under his five-year leadership as CEO the VELUX success story has continued and accelerated. I am sorry to see him leave but fully respect his desire to spend more time with family. Together with the board and a strong executive management team, David put in place an exciting strategy aimed at delivering significant growth towards 2030 and truly leading the way in terms of sustainability within the construction sector. We remain fully committed to the fundamentals of that strategy – says Jørgen Jensen, Chairman of the Board at VELUX Group.

It has been the greatest honour and privilege of my life to lead VELUX and to represent this magnificent company and all my outstanding colleagues. Since 2018, we have achieved results that we can all be proud of - results that are well beyond what many thought might be possible. And this is due to the commitment of my colleagues, but also our partners, our suppliers and of course our customers. I truly believe that the best is yet to come for VELUX, as laid out in the corporate strategy that we launched in 2021 and which is already beginning to show strong results. It is hard to walk away from something I love and believe in so much. But I feel the time is right for me and for my family. With a strong board, backed by the incredibly supportive long-term shareholders of VELUX, I am in no doubt that VELUX will continue to grow and continue to be what is probably the world’s best building materials business for many years to come – says David Briggs, CEO of VELUX Group.