Realdania's board of directors has decided to appoint the association's current philanthropy director Nina Kovsted Helk as the new CEO. She has been part of Realdania's board of directors for six years and has been at the forefront of the association's philanthropic work, and now she will be responsible for the association's entire operations. Nina Kovsted Helk will take up her new role on 1 April 2025 and succeeds Jesper Nygård, who will step down at that time after 12 years of dedicated leadership of the association.
“We are pleased to announce that Nina Kovsted Helk is Realdania's new CEO. The board of directors is convinced that she is the right person to take Realdania forward safely and visionarily,” says Lars Krarup, chairman of Realdania's board of directors.
“The choice is the result of a very thorough search with assistance from Russel Reynolds Associates, which ended with the choice of a highly qualified internal candidate with in-depth knowledge of Realdania's mission and values. I would like to express my sincere thanks to everyone who has shown interest in the position and thus in Realdania's work. It has been an enormously positive experience to see how competent people our organization can attract," adds Lars Krarup.
"The open process has shown that Nina Kovsted Helk is overall our preferred candidate for the job. Nina's experience, professionalism and match to the position and task description perfectly meet our wishes and ambitions. She has a number of new ideas and a clear strategic vision in relation to where the association should go in the coming years in the work of creating quality of life through the built environment. And she is overall a truly capable leader. We on the board look forward to working with Nina to further develop the association," adds Lars Krarup and concludes with:
"When the process ended with an internal candidate for the position, it was natural to reconsider whether the executive board should continue with three people, or whether it is time to have an executive board with two people again. The board and Nina Kovsted Helk have assessed that it makes sense to reintroduce an executive board with two people."
When Nina Kovsted Helk takes over as CEO, Realdania's management board will in future consist of the future CEO and investment director Kenneth Lillelund Winther, who will continue on the board and will be promoted to deputy CEO.
Nina Kovsted Helk says about the upcoming job change:
"I am really looking forward to starting the task as CEO. It is a task that I feel incredibly privileged to be allowed to take on, and one that I am certainly humbled by. At the same time, I have some clear ideas and visions for how the association can develop. The world looks different today than in the first 25 years of Realdania's existence, and we must of course respond to that and contribute to it. In my opinion, Realdania is an important social actor in places where the built environment can contribute to creating a positive development. It is already a well-run and professional organization, as I have experienced over the past six years. There is therefore an incredibly strong foundation to build on. and develop from, and I look forward to getting started with that,” she says, adding that she has no further comments on the job change until after April 1, 2025.