New Jersey High-Tech Hall of Fame : Inductees

2005 High-Tech Business Leader Category

Since 2000, Martin Soeters has been president of Novo Nordisk Inc. and senior vice president of Novo Nordisk North America, which has a turnover of $1.3 billion. He also is a member of the senior management board of Novo Nordisk A/S. Martin has 25 years seniority with Novo Nordisk and has held several sales and marketing positions in The Netherlands, general management positions in Belgium and France, and was senior vice president global marketing at headquarters in Denmark.

Martin is deeply dedicated to Novo Nordisk's vision to change the course of diabetes in the U.S. by improving diabetes prevention and treatment. He believes that, as a world leader in diabetes care, Novo Nordisk has an obligation to educate people about diabetes and to provide the most up-to-date information about the disease. Martin is devoted to promoting awareness of diabetes through the company's public advocacy efforts and campaigns like Diabetes Aware and the prevention of obesity in childhood. To help raise diabetes on the national public healthcare agenda, Martin has established a Novo Nordisk office in Washington D.C. Along with diabetes care, Novo Nordisk holds a leading position within other areas where the company can make a significant difference, including hemophilia and general hemostasis, growth hormone therapy, and hormone therapy for women.

Since taking the helm of the U.S. office four and a half years ago, Martin has heightened the company's focus on Novo Nordisk's Triple Bottom Line - meeting social and environmental obligations in addition to making a substantial sales profit. Martin personally makes it a priority to uphold each aspect of the Triple Bottom Line, protecting the well-being of employees, customers, the community, and the environment. Under Martin’s leadership, Novo Nordisk has strengthened its position in the United States as a leader in breakthrough science and hemostasis. This is demonstrated by a landmark Novo Nordisk study in people with intracerebral hemorrhage, the deadliest and least treatable form of stroke, published globally in the New England Journal of Medicine on February 24, 2005.

Martin is a member of the Board of Overseers of the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, Massachusetts, a member of the Board of Directors of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) in Washington, D.C., and a trustee of the HealthCare Institute of New Jersey.

Born in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, Martin started his career as Officer of Meteorology in the Royal Dutch Air Force and in 1996 attended the Stanford Executive Program. With his wife Sabine, he lives in Princeton, New Jersey, with their golden retriever, Oscar. His three daughters live in The Netherlands.