Leadership change: After two decades as Managing Director, Mette Kynne Frandsen steps down

Since Mette took the lead in 2003, our studio has experienced remarkable growth and international expansion. Under her leadership, we have grown from 80 employees in a single Copenhagen studio to over 650 staff across studios in Denmark, the Faroe Islands, Norway, Sweden, Germany, the USA, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Australia. Our projects now span six continents, reflecting our global reach and impact.  

"Henning Larsen himself saw opportunities before others and had created a curious and strong professional culture. When I succeeded Henning there was a great deal of international potential, and we were eager to bring our culture and architecture to life outside Denmark. I am incredibly proud that I can now look back on an exciting journey where we have not only grown the business and made the company a global player but also brought Danish architecture and significant signature projects to the entire world," says Mette Kynne Frandsen.

In 2020, we joined the Ramboll Group, to enhance interdisciplinary collaboration and strengthen our global presence. This partnership has already yielded significant projects and bolstered our reputation for innovative design solutions. 

"Future architecture must be problem-solving and developed in collaboration with other professions and knowledge competencies. This was precisely the motivation for becoming part of Ramboll. Over the last four years, we have won important projects with Ramboll that have strengthened our joint global position. We have developed our methods, business, professionalism, and organization and experienced an increasing international demand for our sustainable design solutions. Therefore, the time has also come for the next generation to take leadership," Mette adds. 

Jacob Kurek, who started with us as an intern in 1997 and became a partner following the generational change after Henning Larsen himself stepped down, will now step into the role of Managing Director. Currently Global Market Director, Jacob has been instrumental in driving our international business and spearheading many key projects worldwide.  

"Jacob and I have had a strong and very close collaboration over many years, and most recently as a two-person management team for the past year. With Jacob's international experience, with his professionalism and strategic, commercial understanding, I am so pleased that Jacob has been appointed as my successor to continue the development of the business and the strong Henning Larsen design culture," says Mette Kynne Frandsen.

Peter Heymann Andersen, Chief Operating Officer at Ramboll and Chairman of the Board at Henning Larsen, states: "It has been a great pleasure to work with Mette over the last four years, where we have created a business for architecture, landscape, and urban design with 650 employees and a strong international market position. It has been transformative for Ramboll to incorporate Henning Larsen into the Ramboll family, and I would like to thank Mette for her dedication, great effort, and the inspiration she has provided. I am also delighted that Jacob Kurek will take over the leadership of Henning Larsen from September, and together with the rest of the Henning Larsen management team, will take the next important strategic steps in our shared ambition to deliver sustainable and integrated architecture and design solutions for the built environment, cities, and societies of the future."