Lego saviour Knudstorp steps down as CEO to lead new branding division
The man who pulled Lego out of an existential crisis to turn it into the world’s most profitable toy maker is stepping down as CEO to lead a new branding division in the group. CEO Jorgen Vig Knudstorp, 48, would be replaced by chief operations officer, Bali Padda (60), at the end of the year, Lego said on Tuesday. The company, which has its headquarters in western Denmark and is controlled by the billionaire Kirk Kristiansen family, brought in Knudstorp in 2001 after he had worked for them as a McKinsey consultant. When he was promoted to CEO in 2004, Lego was losing about $1m a day as its traditional plastic building blocks could not compete with a growing range of electronic toys.
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