Bavarian Nordic A/S CEO Paul Chaplin will step down by year-end, marking the second major leadership change at the Danish vaccine maker since shareholders rejected a takeover bid last November. Chaplin, who led the company since 2014, will leave for personal reasons as his family plans to relocate to Australia. The announcement follows Chairman Luc Debruyne's resignation after the failed acquisition attempt.

Private equity firms Nordic Capital and Permira abandoned their roughly 20 billion-krone ($3 billion) offer when they failed to secure the required two-thirds shareholder approval. Despite board support, pension fund ATP and numerous retail investors opposed the deal. During Chaplin's 14-year tenure as CEO, Bavarian Nordic shares roughly doubled, though the stock experienced volatility and faced heavy short-selling pressure from hedge funds.

Chaplin's leadership saw significant achievements, particularly with the company's smallpox vaccine, which proved effective against mpox. Bavarian Nordic secured multiple large government contracts during the 2022 and 2024 outbreaks. However, the company faced setbacks, including the 2023 failure of its respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine program. The leadership transition comes as Bavarian Nordic navigates both its successes in infectious disease prevention and challenges in expanding its product pipeline.