About

‘I have been very lucky to work with great leaders who supported me and mentored me in my professional journey’, says Narguiz Birk-Petersen when discussing the contributory factors that account for her career success. ‘I am keenly aware of the impact they had on my career and very grateful for the opportunities and the support I was given. I try to pay it [back] by mentoring colleagues in both legal and commercial organisations. To me, supporting my team and ensuring that each colleague develops and is exposed to new challenges is the most gratifying and important part of my job’. In short, she says, ‘focusing on people pays off’. Formerly the head of Novo Nordisk’s legal and compliance functions in the Middle East, Africa and India, Birk-Petersen moved to Shire in 2017 and into an expanded role covering over 30 jurisdictions. The 2019 acquisition of Shire by Takeda Pharmaceutical Company saw her take on her current role as head of legal for India, CIS, Middle East and Africa at the Japanese Pharmaceutical giant. Of this deal, which resulted in Takeda becoming one of the ten largest pharmaceutical companies globally, Birk-Petersen reports that she and her team have been and continue to be ‘heavily involved’ in the transaction. ‘Even though the acquisition is now complete, there is still a lot of work to be done in integrating the two organisations’, she says.