FUJIFILM Biotechnologies’ CEO Lars Petersen Named “CEO of the Year” at CPHI Pharma Awards 2025
FUJIFILM Biotechnologies, a world-leading contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) specializing in biologics, vaccines, and advanced therapies, proudly announces that its President and Chief Executive Officer, Lars Petersen, has been named “CEO of the Year” at the CPHI Pharma Awards 2025.
The recognition was presented during the annual CPHI Worldwide event in Frankfurt, Germany — the largest global gathering of pharmaceutical professionals, with more than 62,000 attendees from every segment of the industry supply chain. The prestigious CPHI Awards celebrate innovation, leadership, and excellence across the pharmaceutical and biomanufacturing landscape.
Honoring Visionary Leadership in Pharma
The “CEO of the Year” award is among the most distinguished categories at the CPHI Pharma Awards, honoring executives who have demonstrated exceptional leadership, innovation, and impact within the life sciences industry. Winners are selected by a panel of independent senior industry experts, representing diverse disciplines and geographies. Evaluation criteria include measurable business achievements, organizational transformation, and a demonstrated commitment to advancing the pharmaceutical industry through sustainable and people-centric leadership.
In receiving the award, Lars Petersen was recognized for his transformational leadership and strategic vision that has positioned FUJIFILM Biotechnologies as one of the fastest-growing and most trusted CDMOs globally. Since stepping into the CEO role just two years ago, Petersen has led a remarkable organizational evolution marked by operational excellence, deep collaboration, and a focus on empowering people to drive innovation and growth.
Transforming the CDMO Landscape
Under Petersen’s leadership, FUJIFILM Biotechnologies has undertaken a bold transformation to redefine what a modern CDMO can be. At the core of his leadership philosophy is a commitment to trust-based partnerships — with employees, customers, and the wider industry — built on transparency, integrity, and shared purpose.
Petersen’s approach emphasizes the principle that people are the foundation of every great organization. By fostering a “people-first” culture, he has empowered FUJIFILM Biotechnologies’ global workforce of more than 5,000 professionals to innovate with confidence and to approach biomanufacturing as a mission of global health impact rather than simply production capacity.
This culture has been a driving force behind FUJIFILM Biotechnologies’ continued expansion and success. The company has experienced rapid growth across all regions, with significant investments in both capacity and technology. Earlier this year, the company unveiled its new U.S. commercial-scale manufacturing hub, designed to deliver large-scale biomanufacturing capabilities with unprecedented flexibility and speed.
This milestone represents a critical component of Petersen’s vision to create the industry’s largest interconnected network of modular biomanufacturing facilities — a strategy that enables FUJIFILM Biotechnologies to serve customers more efficiently, ensure resilience across supply chains, and accelerate the delivery of vital medicines to patients worldwide.
Additional expansion projects are underway across Europe and Asia, with new facilities set to come online in 2026. These developments are part of a broader initiative to strengthen FUJIFILM Biotechnologies’ integrated global platform for biologics and advanced therapy manufacturing, ensuring that customers — from emerging biotech innovators to global pharmaceutical leaders — can access world-class expertise and end-to-end services across the product lifecycle.
A Culture of Purpose and Collaboration
For Petersen, the success of FUJIFILM Biotechnologies begins with its people. He has been a vocal advocate for creating an organizational environment where collaboration, diversity, and purpose thrive together.
“Our people are our greatest strength,” Petersen often emphasizes. “When employees feel trusted, supported, and inspired, they bring their best ideas to life — and those ideas are what ultimately transform industries and improve lives.”
Under his guidance, the company has expanded programs focused on leadership development, continuous learning, and inclusion. These initiatives have not only improved engagement and retention but have also strengthened FUJIFILM Biotechnologies’ reputation as an employer of choice in the life sciences industry.
Petersen’s leadership style blends Scandinavian authenticity with a global outlook. Known for his humility and clear communication, he emphasizes collaboration over hierarchy and long-term relationships over short-term gains. This people-oriented philosophy mirrors the broader Fujifilm corporate purpose of “Giving our world more smiles” — a guiding belief that technological innovation should always serve humanity’s well-being.
A Vision for the Future of Biomanufacturing
As the biopharmaceutical landscape evolves, Petersen continues to champion innovation not only in technology but also in how organizations think about partnership, quality, and sustainability.
He has driven FUJIFILM Biotechnologies to adopt cutting-edge biomanufacturing solutions — including digital twin technology, process intensification, and advanced analytics — to enable faster, more efficient, and more flexible production of biologics and cell and gene therapies.
Equally important, Petersen is steering the company toward a more sustainable future. FUJIFILM Biotechnologies has implemented a comprehensive sustainability roadmap that targets reductions in carbon emissions, water usage, and waste across all sites. These efforts align with Fujifilm’s global environmental goals and reflect Petersen’s belief that business growth and environmental stewardship must advance hand in hand.
Words of Gratitude
In accepting the award, Petersen expressed deep appreciation for his team, partners, and the broader industry community:
I am truly honored for this recognition and want to thank the CPHI and Informa Markets teams, as well as the panel of judges,” said Petersen. “This award belongs to FUJIFILM Biotechnologies’ incredible team of 5,000 professionals across the globe. Each of you embodies Fujifilm’s purpose of ‘Giving our world more smiles’ by making medicines possible. Together, we are evolving the CDMO industry to help our partners create a healthier world.
