Strong business leader and entrepreneur with roots in research joins Aarhus University Board
The 48-year-old engineer and business owner Frank Jensen will be joining the AU Board in 2025. He brings with him a business and research profile with extensive knowledge about entrepreneurship and sustainability.
No matter whether it’s buildings, companies or professional relationships, Frank Jensen simply loves building things.
Building things has been the driving force in the career of the 48-year-old engineer, who will be joining the Aarhus University Board on 1 February.
On a daily basis, he is the owner and active chair of the board of Søren Jensen Rådgivende Ingeniørfirma A/S, a firm of consulting engineers. He is the third generation in the company founded by his grandfather in 1945. He has also founded a number of startups, and invested in a number of others. Most recently, he established a non-profit organisation that supports sustainable-construction research and teaching.
And very shortly, he will be able to write 'external member of the University Board' on his already extensive CV, when he replaces Carsten Bjerg, former CEO of Grundfos, whose term expires on 1 February.
Studied at Aarhus University
In 1996, Frank Jensen began his studies at the Engineering College of Aarhus, which later became part of AU. However, he switched to the University of Bath while he was a student because of its combined approach to architecture and engineering. In 2005, he completed his PhD at the University of Cambridge.
"My studies and my research have given me an international perspective and, not least, a large international network, which I still maintain. This means that I pay close attention to the interaction between research and practice in my daily work, and I believe this interaction is very important for universities, the construction sector, and for related industries," says Frank Jensen, who points to the establishment of the Aarhus Centre for Regenerative Building as an obvious example. The centre was established collaboratively by Aarhus University, the Aarhus School of Architecture and the non-profit Søren Jensen Institute. The centre aims to generate and disseminate knowledge about sustainable construction.
Frank Jensen has also worked as an engineer and project manager in construction projects such as Aarhus University Hospital, the Tropical Houses in the Botanical Garden in Aarhus, and the Hejmdal meeting and conference centre in the University City.
Chair of the board: an extremely relevant profile
Chair of the Aarhus University Board, Birgitte Nauntofte, is delighted with the appointment. She points out that the external members play a vital role as the voice of society and employers on the board, and she sees Frank Jensen as an important and versatile capacity.
"There was a large and very interesting field of applicants, but Frank Jensen had a strong combination of professional skills. He is highly experienced in business and commerce. He brings extensive knowledge about areas that are very important for us, such as sustainability and innovation, he is a company founder and investor, and not least he owns a company with 200 employees. Finally, he has convincing experience in entrepreneurship with an interdisciplinary perspective. All this is highly relevant in many of the strategic agendas the university board is working on."
The chair of the board also extends a big thank to Carsten Bjerg, who has been a member of the Aarhus University Board since February 2021:
"With his deep understanding of the needs of both research and the business community, Carsten has been an essential voice, and on behalf of the entire board, I would like to thank him for his hard work over the years. I’ve greatly appreciated his dedication, not least as a deputy."
Extracts from Frank Jensen's CV:
- Born in 1976
- Owner and board member of Søren Jensen Rådgivende Ingeniørfirma A/S
- MSc in Engineering from the Engineering College of Aarhus and the University of Bath
- PhD from the University of Cambridge
- External examiner on Danish engineering degree programmes
- Former external lecturer at the Aarhus School of Architecture, the University of Cambridge, and TU Delft
- Co-founder of Aarhus Centre for Regenerative Building