Novo Chairman Faces Testy Investors Over Lack of Progress

Novo Nordisk A/S’s Chairman Lars Rebien Sorensen faced intense scrutiny from investors at the company’s annual general meeting on Thursday, the first after his boardroom coup last year.

Sorensen and new Chief Executive Officer Mike Doustdar have had just months to start remaking Novo as a more aggressive and fast-moving company, but investors point to two recent missteps. The drugmaker failed in an attempt last fall to wrest an obesity startup away from Pfizer Inc. And it surprised the market this year with a gloomy forecast that sent shares plunging.