Aarhus Symposium is an annual leadership conference taking place at the University of Aarhus, Denmark, on the first Friday in November. The aim of the event is to connect leaders of today with leaders of tomorrow. To do so, a wide range of key decision-makers are invited to share their experiences and engage in discussions with students from various universities. Hereby, the symposium allows students to relate their academic insights to the broader business society.
Aarhus Symposium was founded in 2011 and has since expanded its concept to also involve Aarhus Symposium Focus, and Aarhus Symposium Challenge.
Aarhus Symposium is a non-profit organisation, and all symposia are organised by voluntary students together with a pro bono board of directors.
History Four students at Aarhus University established Aarhus Symposium in 2011: David Scherer, Jens Riis Andersen, Kasper Vinther Olesen, and Andreas Emmertsen. They gathered support from other students to organise the very first Aarhus Symposium with the objective of building a bridge between students, i.e. the future leaders, and leaders in today's businesses and society.
The first annual Aarhus Symposium welcomed renowned speakers from the business society such as Carsten Bjerg (then CEO of Grundfos), Lars Rohde (then CEO of ATP), and Maria Rønn (CEO of Danmarks Radio). Throughout the years, the programme has extended to include prominent speakers such as His Royal Highness The Crown Prince of Denmark, Lars Rebien Sørensen (president and CEO of Novo Nordisk), and the Danish Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen.
Aarhus Symposium has grown through the years as a result of wide support from students, speakers, partners, and others. In 2012, the Organising Committee introduced Battle of the Economists; an event to take place on Monday in the week of Aarhus Symposium. It provided a national focus to the overall theme of Aarhus Symposium. The event was renamed Aarhus Symposium Focus in 2016 to broaden the possibilities for topics that exceed economic issues.
In 2013, Aarhus Symposium Challenge was established to strengthen the connection between students and the leaders of today. Aarhus Symposium Challenge is an essay competition in which selected speakers put forth a challenge for students to solve. Through their essay, students obtain a seat at both Aarhus Symposium and Aarhus Symposium Focus, and they potentially qualify for Leaders’ Forum. Since its initiation in 2013, an increasing number of students have participated in Aarhus Symposium Challenge, making it the primary sign-up for Aarhus Symposium and Aarhus Symposium Focus.
Aarhus Symposium
Aarhus Symposium takes place on the first Friday in November. Here, business executives and key decision-makers are invited to share their experiences and insights regarding a specific theme. They do so with different perspectives that reflect the tracks, i.e. subtopics, of the event.
Past symposia
Year Theme Speakers 2011 Growth in Distressed Economies: The Role of Ownership Structures Carsten Bjerg, CEO of Grundfos Ditlev Engel, CEO of Vestas Flemming Lindeløv, Deltaq Frederik Lotz, CFO of Arla Foods Kim Fournais, CEO of Saxo Bank Kurt Pedersen Kaalund, CEO of Cheminova A/S and Auriga Industries A/S Lars Rohde, CEO of ATP Maria Rønn, CEO of DR Peter Engberg, CEO of Nykredit Thomas Schmidt, MD, McKinsey & Company 2012 Growth and Sustainability Gonçalo De Barros Carvalho Emello Mourão, Brazilian Ambassador, The Brazilian Embassy in Copenhagen Henrik Skovby, founder and executive chairman at Dalberg Jens Bjørn Andersen, CEO of DSV Jimmy Fussing Nielsen, managing partner at Sunstone Capital Jørgen Tang-Jensen, CEO of VELUX Jørgen Vig Knudstorp, CEO of LEGO Lars Rasmussen, CEO of Coloplast Niels B. Christiansen, CEO of Danfoss Per Bank, CEO of Dansk Supermarked Steen Riisgaard, CEO of Novozymes Susanne T. Nielsen, CEO of C.F. Møller Architects Tania Ellis, founder and managing director at The Social Business Company Tommy Ahlers, CEO of Podio 2013 Leadership and Innovation Henrik Bennetsen, director of Health IT, Innovation Centre Denmark in Silicon Valley, CA, USA Henrik Poulsen, CEO of DONG Energy Jim Hagemann Snabe, co-CEO at SAP AG Jørgen Rugholm, director at McKinsey & Co. Copenhagen Office Lone Fønss Schrøder, partner at Norfalck Mikkel Vestergaard Frandsen, CEO and owner at Vestergaard Frandsen Nils S. Andersen, group CEO of A.P. Moller-Mærsk A/S Peter Beske Nielsen, managing director at Blackrock Soulaima Gourani, CEO of Soulaima Gourani APS Tine Thygesen, CEO of Everplaces 2014 Leadership and Strategy Anders Eldrup, professional board member, chairman Birger Steen, CEO of Parallels General Peter Bartram, Danish Chief of Defence Jeff Gravenhorst, group CEO of ISS A/S Karina Schmitt Lund, founder and CEO of Winterspring Malou Aamund, director of marketing and Operations at Microsoft Mette Lykke, co-founder and CEO of Endomondo Morten Strunge, founder and CEO of Mofibo Peder Tuborgh, CEO of Arla Foods Thomas F. Borgen, group CEO of Danske Bank 2015 Leadership and Technology Andreas Roepstorff, professor and director at Interacting Minds Centre, Aarhus University Christian Clausen, president and CEO of Nordea Christian Stadil, CEO of Thornico Connie Hedegaard, chairman of the board at KR Foundation Daniel Daboczy and Arno Smit, co-founders of FundedByMe Eva Berneke, CEO of KMD Jens-Peter Saul, group CEO of Ramboll Lars Frelle-Petersen, director general at Danish Agency for Digitisation Lars Rebien Sørensen, president and CEO of Novo Nordisk Mads Nipper, group president and CEO of Grundfos Robert Uggla, CEO of Svitzer Simon Giles, global cities lead at Accenture 2016 The Art of Power Anja Bechmann, head of the digital footprints research group at Aarhus University Birgitte Bonnesen, CEO and president of Swedbank Bjarke Ingels, founding partner at BIG Jais Valeur, CEO of Danish Crown Jens Birgersson, president and CEO of ROCKWOOL International Jimmy Maymann, president of AOL content and consumer brands Kim Schlyter, cyber risk leader at Deloitte Denmark and the Nordics Lars Fjeldsøe-Nielsen, general partner of Balderton Capital Matias Møl Dalsgaard, CEO and co-founder of GoMore Morten Albæk, co-founder and CEO of Voluntas Peder Holk Nielsen, president and CEO of Novozymes Pernille Erenbjerg, president and CEO of TDC Group Peter Bardenfleth-Hansen, director of Nordic sales at Tesla Motors Thomas Lund-Sørensen, director at Centre for Cyber Security 2017 Leading Through Change Bjarne Corydon, global director of McKinsey Center for Government Bo Nilsson, CEO at Nets Helle Valentin, global chief operating officer of Watson Internet of Things Jacob Gram Alsing, chief operating officer at Mikkeller Janina Kugel, chief human resources officer and member of the managing board at Siemens Jesper Kunde, founder and CEO at Kunde & Co Lars Rohde, chairman of the board of governors at Danmarks Nationalbank Margrethe Vestager, European Commissioner for Competition Ole Lund Hansen, chief of leadership programmes at United Nations Global Compact Steen Borgholm, CEO at ECCO Theis Søndergaard, chief product officer & co-founder of Vivino2018Creating Connections Jan van de Winkel, CEO, Genmab Niels B. Christiansen, CEO, The Lego Group Afshan Khan, Regional Director, Europe & Central Asia, UNICEF Ulrik Juul Christensen, Executive Chairman, Area9 Group Rodin Genoff, Founder & Managing Director, Rodin Genoff and Associates Søren Skou, CEO, Maersk Group Jakob Askou Bøss, Senior VP, Corporate Strategy and Stakeholder Relations, Ørsted Christian Erfurt, CEO and Co-Founder, Be My Eyes Michael Bruun, Partner and Managing Director, Goldman Sachs Inge Berneke, Partner, Egon Zehnder Lars Jannick Johansen, Founder & Managing Partner, The Social Capital Fond Lene Skole, CEO, Lundbeckfonden2019Mastering Creativity Kasper Holten, Director, The Royal Danish Theatre Mikkel Grene, CEO, Søstrene Grene Henrik Andersen, CEO, Vestas Christian Stadil, CEO & Co-Founder, Thornico André Rogaczewski, CEO & Co-Founder, Netcompany Susanne Mørch Koch, CEO, Danske Spil Henrik Lund, CEO, Naturli' Foods Nina Bjerring, Chief Transformation Officer, Arla Foods Nana Bule, CEO, Microsoft Denmark Signe Lopdrup, CEO, Roskilde Festival Finn Poulsen, CEO, Co-Founder & Partner, Bestseller Retail Europe Christoffer Bak, Christian Aachmann & Kasper Ulrich, Co-Founders, Shaping New Tomorrow2021A New Reality Joe Kaeser, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, SIEMENS ENERGY, Siemens Energy Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice President, European Commission Kim Fournais, CEO & Founder, Saxo Bank Magnus Tyreman, Managing Partner in Europe, McKinsey & Company Helle Østergaard Kristiansen, CEO, Danske Commodities Mads Nipper, Group CEO, Ørsted Per Bank, CEO, Salling Group Britta Korre Stenholt, CEO, Stark Denmark Anders Krab-Johansen, CEO & Publisher, Berlingske Media Geeta Schmidt, Co-Founder & Vice President, Humio at CrowdStrike Sebastian Vestergaard, Former CEO, Joe & The Juice Mads Christiansen & Mathias Boe, Co-Founders, Aktieuniverset2022When Things Go North Berit Basse, Ambassador, Consul General of Denmark in New York Lars Lyse Hansen, CEO, Bolia International A/S Christian Hyldahl, Managing Director, Head of Continental Europe, Blackrock Laurits Bach Sørensen, Partner & Co-founder, Nordic Alpha Partners Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, President & CEO, Novo Nordisk Henrik Bodskov, Incoming CEO, IO Business/NNIT Kerstin Knapp, EVP & CPCO, Vestas Jean Hedayat, Head of LinkedIn Sweden Jacob Vittrup, CEO, NRGI Celia Francis, Chief Commercial Officer, Earthshot Labs Anders Samuelsen, CEO, UV Medico Lars Seier Christensen, Founder & CEO, Seier Capital, Chairman of The Board, Concordium Nicolai Moresco, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Dell Technologies Central & North Europe
Aarhus Symposium Focus Formerly known as Battle of the Economists
Aarhus Symposium Focus is an annual conference which takes place on Monday in the week of Aarhus Symposium. Here, experts with various backgrounds are invited to share their thoughts on a topic related to the overall theme of Aarhus Symposium. The event provides a national focus as the topic strives to reflect one of Denmark's most critical challenges.
Year Theme Speakers 2012 Denmark's Challenges - Growth and Sustainability Per Callesen, Governor at Danmarks Nationalbank Steen Jakobsen, chief economist at Saxo Bank Torben M. Andersen, professor of economics at Aarhus University 2013 Denmark's Challenges - Leadership and Innovation Peter Mogensen, CEO of Kraka Philipp Schröder, professor of economics at Aarhus University Martin Ågerup, president at CEPOS 2014 The Superior Nordic Strategy Erik Bjørsted, chief analyst at AE-rådet Otto Brøns-Petersen, head of research at CEPOS Torben M. Andersen, professor of economics at Aarhus University 2015 Go Green, Now? Ditlev Engel, chairman of the board at Big Future 2025 Michael Svarer, professor at the Department of Economics and Management, Aarhus University Thomas Dalsgaard, executive vice president at DONG Energy Thermal Power 2016 Demographic Changes – How will we work, age, and live? Allan Lyngsø Madsen, chief economist at LO Torben Tranæs, executive director of Research at SFI Troels Bjerg, regional CEO Northern Europe at ISS A/S 2017 Globalisation In Reverse – The Danish Response Christian Friis Bach, former executive secretary at [United Nations Economic Commission for Europe|UNECE] Dennis Novy, associate professor of economics at University of Warwick Edward Ashbee, associate professor at Department of Business and Politics, Copenhagen Business School Thomas Schulz, group CEO at FLSmidth2018Making Automation Work Lars Frelle-Petersen, Director of Digisation, Confederation of Danish Industry Dominik Bösl [de], Vice President, Consumer Driven Robots, KUKA Philipp Schröder, Member of the Danish Disruption Council