the Founder, the Family, and the CEO

Ole Kirk Christiansen in 60 years old

Ole Kirk Christiansen (born April 7th, 1891- March 11, 1958 died at the age of 66 years) is the founder of the Danish toy company called Lego Group. He was the 10th of the pair Jens Niels Christiansen and Kristine Christiansen, born in the Omvraa Mark, Blåhøj-Filskov parish, Vejle, Denmark. Although coming from poor families in the economy, he still completed the basic education schools there.In 1905 at the age - 14, he began to learn carpentry under the guidance of his elder brother, Kristian. In 1911, he left Denmark and worked in Germany as a carpenter for five years.

In 1916, Ole returned to Denmark and, using his savings, bought the Billund Maskinsnedkeri og Tømreforretning (The Billund Carpentry Shop and Lumberyard). Around this time, he married Hansine Kirstine Sörensen in Lindeballe, whom he met in Norway and they soon started a family. They had 4 children: Johannes Christiansen (born 1917), Karl Georg Kirk Christiansen (born 1919), Godtfred Kirk Christiansen (born 1920) and Gerhardt Kirk Christiansen (born 1926). 

Ole Kirk's House & Workshop in 1935

  

Ole Kirk's House & Workshop in 2005

He trained as a carpenter and started making wooden toys in 1932 to earn a living after losing his job during the depression. Immediately after Christiansen's wife passed away on 1932 in Billund, leaving him to care for her four children. In 1934, Ole Kirk married Kirsten Sofie Jörgensen in Haslev. [1]

Ole Kirk Christiansen and Kirsten Sofie Jörgensen, with their children in 1938

Ole Kirk Christiansen came up with the name LEGO from the Danish words leg godt, meaning "play well" and the company grew into the LEGO Group. [2] On March 11, 1958, Christiansen died of a heart attack when she was 66 years old, and his third son Godtfred Kirk Christiansen immediately take over the company. [3]

Ole Kirk's anniversary - 60 years old in 1951. Ole Kirk (top), Godtfred (middle), Godfret's son - Kjeld (bottom)

Godtfred Kirk Christiansen (July 8, 1920 – July 13, 1995)[4] was the managing director of The LEGO Group from 1957 to 1979.[5] He was the third son of company founder Ole Kirk Christiansen.

In 1950, he became Junior Vice President of the company on his 30th birthday.[6] He was appointed Managing Director in 1957, and became the head of the company after his father died in the following year.[6] By 1960, Godtfred had bought out his three brothers to become sole proprietor of the company.

He was married to Edith Nørregaard Knudsen (became Edith Christiansen after her marriage), with whom he had 3 children, Gunhild Kirk Christiansen, Kjeld Kirk Christiansen and Hanne Christiansen. Box Art designs from the 1950s show all three of their children playing with LEGO bricks. All the basic sets of that era had Ole Kirk Christiansen's 3 grandchildren (from his son Godtfred Kirk Christiansen), on the box top.

700/3A Basic Set (1953-55 era) showing Gunhild (left) and Kjeld (right)

 

In October 1969 Hanne and Kjeld were driving home from a movie in the neighboring town of Give. Their car skidded off the road and hit a tree. Hanne was killed and Kjeld was seriously injured. The tragedy so shook Godtfred that he seriously considered selling the company.

From left : Edith, Kjeld (14 y.o.), Godtfred, Hanne (10 y.o.), and Gunhild (16 y.o.), appear in 1962 Germany's Quick magazine. Of these five, Kjeld Kirk and Gunhild still survive. Godtfred passed away in 1995 at the age of 74, daugher Hanne passed away in 1969 (age 19) in an auto accident, and Edith passed away in 2015 (age 91)

Godtfred's son, Kjeld Kirk Christiansen, became president and CEO of the LEGO Group in 1979.

Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen (born 27 December 1947) is the former president and CEO of The LEGO Group (1979–2004).

As a reminder... when Kjeld Kirk Christiansen was born in 1947... his birth certificate had a typo in the name field... Kristiansen instead of Christiansen. Later in life he started using the Kristiansen spelling, Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen.

Kjeld was born 27 December 1947 in Billund, Denmark. As a child, he often inspired and tested new model concepts and their building instructions.[7] He also appeared on many of the company's packages and marketing materials.[7] In 1979, he became president and CEO of The LEGO Group. Kjeld introduced themes, minifigures, LEGO.com, LEGO Mindstorms and licensed properties.[7] In 2004, he stepped down as president and CEO to focus on his role as owner of the LEGO Group and vice-chairman of the board, while maintaining his role as chairman of the board of KIRKBI A/S, Lego Holding A/S and the LEGO Foundation.[7] LEGO is privately held and is controlled by the Christiansen family and their foundations. Kjeld and his wife, Camilla, live in Denmark and have three children and two grandchildren.

He has received many awards in his professional career.

• Knight of Denmark's Dannebrog Order
• 1996: The Freedom Prize from the Max Schmidheiny Foundation, Switzerland.[8]
• 1996: Distinguished Family Business Award from the International Institute for Management and Development (IMD), Switzerland.[9]
• Moran (Peony) insignia of the Order of Civil Merit from the Korean government
• Founder's Award from Dean Kamen
• 2008: he was inducted in the Toy Hall of Fame. [7] The Toy Hall of Fame was established in 1984 to recognize those people who have contributed most significantly to the toy industry. Past inductees include Ole Kirk Christiansen, Kjeld's grandfather and Lego founder, inducted in 1989.[10]

Kjeld and his wife Camilla in 2013

Kjeld and Camilla have 3 children : Sofie Kirk Kiaer Kristiansen (born 1977), Thomas Kirk Kristiansen (born 1979), Agnete Kirk Thinggaard (born 1983). Thomas is on the LEGO Board of Directors.

From left : Agnethe Kirk Thinggaard, Camilla, Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, (front) Edith Christiansen, Sofie Kirk Kiaer Kristiansen, and Thomas Kirk Kristiansen, in 2014.

And Kjelds older sister Gunhild had 3 sons, Anders, Casper, and Morten. The oldest of which is Anders Kirk Johansen (born 1978). Gunhild and her sons bought up of LEGO together in 2007.

 

From left : Edith Christiansen (Gunhild's mother), Morgan Johansen (Gunhild's husband), and Gunhild Kirk Christiansen (became Gunhild Kirk Johansen after her marriage)

Anders Kirk Johansen (right) and Anja Buchwald in their 2011 marriage. They divorced in 2015.[11]

Christian and Johansen families have strong friendship relation with Danish Royal Family. They often got vacation and attended some important events together.

From left : Princess Mary and Prince Frederik (Danish Royal Family), Sofia Kirk Kiaer Kristiansenand her husband Christopher Kiaer Thomsen, in 2011 Anders Kirk Johansen - Anja Buchwald marriage

Jørgen Vig Knudstorp (born 21 November 1968 in Fredericia), is the current CEO of the LEGO Group, and has been since October 2004. He succeeded Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen and is the first non-family member to head LEGO.

Jorgen Vig Knudstorp (left) and Thomas Kirk Kristiansen.

Jørgen Vig Knudstorp joined the LEGO Group in 2001 after working as a McKinsey & Company consultant [13] and university researcher at Aarhus University.[12]

Under Knudstorp's tenure, Lego Group's yearly income has gone from a loss to drawing a notable profit.[14][15] In December 2016, it was announced that Knudstorp would step down as CEO of LEGO, and instead take the position of Chairman of the group.[16]

Bali Padda (born 1956 in India), is a British businessman and currently the chief operations officer for The LEGO Group. He has been appointed the new CEO for the company, effectively starting on January 2017, replacing Jørgen Vig Knudstorp.[17][19] He will be the first non-Danish top-level executive to run the 84-year-old company.[18][20]

Bali Padda, CEO of LEGO Group

Padda joined the LEGO Group in 2002 as Head of Market Oriented Packing based in Enfield, USA.[18] Bali Padda came from a Customer Service & Supplier Relations background with GlaxoWellcome and Timberland before joining the LEGO Group.[17][21]

 

1. Dansk Slægtsforskning. "Slægtsbog for efterkommere efter Ole Kirk Christiansen, født 1891, tømrer og bygningssnedker i Billund ..." . worldcat.org. 1964.
2. Mary Bellis (1 May 1954). "lego group timeline". Inventors.about.com.
3. "Inventor of the Week: Ole Kirk Christiansen". Lemelson-MIT Program. December 2004.
4. "Godtfred Kirk Christiansen". www.gravsted.dk. Retrieved 2015-11-14.
5. Pace, Eric (1995-07-14). "Godtfred K. Christiansen, 75; Covered the World With Lego". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2015-11-14.
6. "Timeline 1950 - 1959 - The LEGO history - The LEGO Group - About Us LEGO.com". www.lego.com. Retrieved 2015-11-14.
7. "LEGO Legend Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen to be Inducted into the Toy Hall of Fame". What's the Buzz. Toy Industry Association, Inc. 2008-02-11. Retrieved 2008-03-01.
8. "Freedom Prize Awardees". Max Schmidheiny Foundation. Retrieved 2008-03-01.
9. Moeller, Lise. "Laureates of the last decade". Institute for Managers and Development. Retrieved 2008-03-01.
10. "Toy Industry Hall of Fame". Toy Industry Association, Inc. Retrieved 2008-03-01. 
11.  Silas Bang . "Lego-arving skal skilles få år efter storslået bryllup". Billund UgeAvis. vafo.dk. 2015-12-24.
12. http://www.au.dk/en/annualcelebration/annual-celebration-2014/the-aarhus-university-distinguished-alumnus/?no_cache=1
13. Feloni, Richard (10 February 2014). "How Lego Came Back From The Brink Of Bankruptcy". businessinsider.com. Business Insider Inc.
14. Schwartz, Nelson D. (8 June 2006). "One brick at a time". fortune.com. FORTUNE Magazine.
15. Agence France-Presse (4 March 2010). "Toy Maker Lego Sees Profits Soar in 2009, More to Come in 2010". Industryweek.com. IndustryWeek. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
16. Pedersen, Signe Ferslev (6 December 2016). "Knudstorp stopping as CEO of LEGO". Business.dk (in Danish). Berlingske Media. Retrieved 6 December 2016. 
17. Trangbæk, Roar Rude (6 December 2016). "Bali Padda Appointed New CEO of the LEGO Group". Lego.com. LEGO Group. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
18. Sommer, Mathias (6 December 2016). "Portrait LEGO's New Man: Bali Padda Have to Fight Alibaba For the Asian Market". dr.dk (in Danish). Danmarks Radio. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
19. Pedersen, Signe Ferslev (6 December 2016). "Knudstorp stopping as CEO of LEGO". Business.dk (in Danish). Berlingske Media. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
20. Børjesen, Jesper Rise (6 December 2016). "Bali Padda First Non-Dane to Be Head of LEGO". ekstrabladet.dk (in Danish). JP/Politikens Hus A/S. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
21. Klausen, Gitte. "Bali Padda". lego.com. LEGO Group. Retrieved 8 December 2016.