Mar­cus Schind­ler on the Evolving Role of Lead­er­ship

Marcus Schindler is Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer at Novo Nordisk, where he leads Research and Early Development. His work focuses on transforming scientific ideas into potential treatments and ensuring the company’s research remains at the forefront of innovation. As a member of the executive team, he also helps define the organisation’s long-term strategy. For Marcus, the role of leadership has changed profoundly in a world shaped by technological disruption, geopolitical tension, and growing social transparency. “We face a multitude of pressures,” he explains. “It’s no longer acceptable to say, ‘I didn’t know.’ As leaders, we must be aware of ethical dilemmas and societal tensions – and act on them.” 

Marcus believes leadership today requires a balance between awareness and action. “We can’t just analyse; we have to do something with what we’ve learned,” he says. This process begins with humility – a willingness to inform oneself, listen, and learn – but must lead to concrete steps. For Marcus, that movement from reflection to action defines true leadership. Purpose plays a central role in this process. “Purpose is the fundamental piece of leadership,” he explains. “Without it, you might be managing, but you are not leading.” Clarity of purpose, both personal and organisational, guides leaders through complexity and helps them build the legacy they want to leave behind. 

This sense of purpose extends naturally to how Marcus views diversity and inclusion. He recalls a personal turning point when he and his leadership team realised that learning and reflection were not enough. “We needed to act,” he says. For him, inclusion means ensuring that every employee feels their voice matters and their background is relevant to the organisation’s success. “It’s about making inclusion a reality,” he explains. Speaking up on these issues was initially outside his comfort zone. “You have to learn a new language sometimes,” he admits. But this process of learning and socialising new perspectives has deepened his leadership practice, reinforcing that inclusion and courage are inseparable. 

Collaboration is another cornerstone of Marcus’s leadership philosophy. When he joined Novo Nordisk six years ago, he was tasked with building partnerships between the company and external innovators – a new approach for the organisation. True collaboration, he says, begins with shared purpose. “You have to sit down and ask, what are we trying to achieve together that we cannot do alone?” For Marcus, success depends on mutual listening and understanding. He often encourages teams to create a “mini manifesto” – a short statement outlining their joint goals, principles, and ways of solving problems. “Collaboration,” he reflects, “is an iterative process. It takes time, engagement, and compromise to move forward together.” 

Marcus also sees courage as a defining quality of modern leadership. “Maybe it’s courageous to do what you say and to say what you do,” he suggests. At Novo Nordisk, that courage was evident in the company’s early and persistent investment in obesity research, a field most competitors abandoned at the time. “It was either very courageous or outright detrimental,” he recalls with a smile. For him, courage and persistence are two sides of the same coin – though he cautions that persistence must never become stubbornness. “You can’t separate courage from leadership,” he concludes. “It’s about being consistent in your purpose and actions so people can judge you for who you are and what you do.” 

Marcus Schindler’s reflections mirror the CBS Leadership Centre’s belief that responsible leadership begins with awareness, deepens through collaboration, and takes shape in action. In times of rapid change, courage, purpose, and humility are not opposites but companions – guiding leaders toward decisions that unite conviction with care.