Alan Murray recently wrote about century-old companies that survive by refusing to let their past be an anchor. This came to mind when speaking with Mike Doustdar, CEO of Novo Nordisk, the 103-year-old Danish drugmaker behind Ozempic and Wegovy. Doustdar marked his one-year anniversary as CEO.

Rather than grade his tenure, Doustdar discussed how the company—which has fallen behind in the GLP-1 wars despite creating the market—is changing. "I am encouraged by how people are coming together in the organization, thinking differently, acting faster, looking more outward, that the world is bigger than our company," he said.

Culture change has been part of his mission since taking the role, though he arrived with 33 years of experience at the company. As a 21-year-old in the Vienna office, he felt free to share opinions. But some habits created drag: "parts of the organization that get paralyzed by further analysis, get paralyzed by consensus decision-making."