COPENHAGEN, March 26 (Reuters) - Novo Nordisk

on Thursday elected Poul Weihrauch, CEO of family-owned U.S.

candy and pet food giant Mars, as observer to its board, as the

drugmaker seeks to strengthen its position in the highly

competitive U.S. obesity market.

The maker of weight-loss drug Wegovy announced the

appointment at its annual general meeting, where shareholders

also elected pharmaceutical industry veterans Jan van de Winkel

and Ramona Sequeira to the board, along with Helena Saxon, a

board member at fashion retailer H&M.

In 2025, Novo Nordisk and its majority shareholder, the Novo

Nordisk Foundation, carried out a leadership shake-up, replacing

the CEO and restructuring the board.

This included appointing Lars Rebien Sorensen, who also

chairs the Foundation, as board chairman, consolidating his

leadership role.

Novo is trying to boost its consumer credentials in the U.S.

market in a number of ways under its new management. In January

it launched its Wegovy pill across multiple cash-pay channels,

rather than solely through traditional insurance routes.

The company is leaning into telehealth, retail partnerships

and direct-to-consumer access as it and chief rival Eli Lilly

and Co say the obesity market is becoming increasingly

"consumer-like".