Frederik Paulsen Jr
Prof Dr Frederik Paulsen OBE is a Swedish billionaire businessman, explorer, philanthropist and non-executive chairman of Ferring Pharmaceuticals.
Biography
Early life
Frederik Dag Arfst Paulsen was born on 30 October 1950 in Stockholm, Sweden, as a Swedish citizen. His father was Frederik Paulsen Sr, the founder of Ferring Pharmaceuticals. Frederik Paulsen grew up in Sweden, with his father and his father's second wife, Eva Wolf Frandsen – one of the founding researchers at Ferring. He attended school in Sweden and then went on to study chemistry at the Christian Albrecht University in Kiel, and business administration at Lund University in Sweden. He received his doctoral degree in Demography from Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales in Paris, France.Career
Since 2003, Frederik Paulsen has been based in Switzerland, where Ferring subsquently established its global headquarters in Saint-Prex. His business interests focus mainly on the Ferring Pharmaceuticals Group where he has worked since 1976 in senior executive positions.During this period, the company founded by his father in Malmö, Sweden expanded to become an international operation. Today, Ferring has operations in over 50 countries and sells its products in more than 110 countries around the globe. Ferring specialized from the outset in peptide drugs and has continued its commitment to their development.
Frederik Paulsen's business activities extend into other pharmaceutical and life science areas, wines and spirits, and publishing. Frederik Paulsen's other business interests include:
- Polypeptide Laboratories
- Sever Group
- Svar Diagnostics
- Editions Paulsen
- Marussia Beverages
Since 2009, Frederik Paulsen also has held the position of Honorary Consul of the Russian Federation, in Lausanne, Switzerland. He was appointed Honorary Consul General in 2015. In 2020, he was appointed a Knight of the Order of St. John by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth of England.
Personal Life
Exploration
Frederik Paulsen is also an avid explorer. In 2007, alongside Russian Veteran explorer Artur Chilingarov and Australian researcher Mike McDowell, he descended more than 14,000 feet in a Russian MIR submersible to take samples of soil and fauna at the bottom of the Arctic ocean at the North Pole. In 2010, Paulsen, alongside his travelling companion François Bernard, completed the first crossing of the Bering Strait from America to Russia in an ultralight aircraft.In the winter of 2013, he became the first man to explore all eight of the Earth’s poles.
Philanthropy
As Chairman of Ferring, Frederik Paulsen is a founding sponsor of The Peptide Therapeutics Foundation. He has contributed to the opening of several fertility clinics throughout Russia to help solve its demographics problem. He has donated approximately $40 million to the Museum Kunst der Westküste. He has also substantially contributed to the Salk Institute in San Diego, California, Bhutan's Royal Textile Academy and the South Georgia Heritage Trust in Scotland.Honours and awards
Paulsen is the recipient of numerous national honours and holds many and varied positions. Some of these are listed here:Honours
- Doctorate honoris causa, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, Switzerland.
- Doctorate honoris causa, Technology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
- Doctorate honoris causa, Faculty of Medicine, Christian Albrecht University, Kiel, Germany.
- Doctorate honoris causa, Politics, Moscow State Institute of International Relations, Moscow, Russian Federation.
- Doctorate honoris causa, Duncan of Jordanstone College, University of Dundee, Scotland, United Kingdom.
- Doctorate honoris causa, Kazan National Research Technological University, Kazan, Respublika Tatarstan, Russian Federation.
- Honorary director, The Explorers Club, New York City, USA.
- Honorary director, Save Venice Inc., New York City, USA.
- Honorary fellowship, Royal Scottish Geographical Society, Scotland, United Kingdom.
- Honorary Life Professorship of the College of Art, Science & Engineering, University of Dundee, Scotland, United Kingdom.
Awards
- Ehrenbürgerschaft, Honorary Citizenship, awarded by the Christian Albrecht University, Kiel, Germany.
- Officier de la Légion d'Honneur, Paris, France, granted by President François Hollande of the French Republic.
- Орден Дружбы, Order of Friendship presented by President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation.
- Ridder af Dannebrogordenen, Cross of the Order of Chivalry granted by Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II of Denmark.
- Bundesverdienstkreuz I. Klasse, Order of Merit Class I awarded by President Horst Köhler of the Federal Republic of Germany.
- Нагрудный знак "Почетному полярнику", Honorary Polar Explorer Medal, Aspol, Moscow, Russian Federation.
- མངའ་བདག་དཔལ་གྱི་འཁོར་ལོ། Nga Dap Pel Gi Khorlo, The Order of the Druk Gyalpo, presented by King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck of Bhutan.
- Нагрудный знак Министерства Иностранных Дел Российской Федерации "За вклад в Международное сотрудничество", Decoration for Contribution to International Cooperation presented by the Foreign Ministry of the Russian Federation.
- ღირსების ორდენი, The Order of Honor, awarded by President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia.
- Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, granted by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, United Kingdom.
- Order of St John Service Medal, awarded by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, United Kingdom.
- Freeman of the City of London, United Kingdom.
- Companion of The Royal Aero Club of the United Kingdom, awarded by the Council of The Royal Aero Club of the United Kingdom.
- Vilkitsky Decoration, granted by the Polar Research Fund of the Russian Federation.
- Silver Medal of Russian Geographic Society, awarded by Mr.Shoygu of RGS, Russia Federation.
- Climber of Russia, awarded by the Alpinist Federation of Russia.
- Lowell Thomas Medal, awarded by The Explorers Club, New York City, USA.
- Scottish Geographical Medal, awarded by Royal Scottish Geographical Society, United Kingdom.
- Medal of Honour, granted by the Granada Dance and Music International Festival, Spain.
- Patron of Exploration, granted by The Explorers Club, New York City, USA.
- Medal for French Language and Literature, awarded by the Fondation Broquette-Gonin at the Académie Française, France.
- Орден Великого князя Сергея Александровича, Order of the Grand Prince Sergei Alexandrovich, presented by Mr Stepashin of the Imperial Russian Palestinian Society in Moscow, Russian Federation.
- Knight of the Order of St John, sanctioned by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, United Kingdom.
Interests and memberships
- Member of the Board of MGIMO University, Moscow, Russian Federation.
- Member of the Kuratorium Pro Universitate of the Christian Albrechts University, Kiel, Germany.
- Trustee of the Salk Institute of Biological Research, La Jolla, California, USA.
- Trustee of the South Georgia Heritage Trust, Dundee, Scotland.
- Trustee of the Royal Textile Academy of Bhutan, Thimphu, Bhutan.
- Life member of The Explorers Club, New York City.
- Honorary Member of the Polar Explorers Association, Moscow, Russian Federation.
- Director of the Board of the Museum Kunst der Westküste, Alkersum, Germany.
- Member of the Advisory Board, Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, Washington, DC, USA.
- Member of the Advisory Board, Arctic Circle.
- Member of the Advisory Council for the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Polar Regions in Westminster, United Kingdom.
- Member of the Vladivostok Maritime Assembly.
- Member of the Board of Trustees, Lausanne Opera Foundation Council, Lausanne, Switzerland.
- Founding member of the Swiss Polar Institute, Berne, Switzerland.
- Ocean Elders, San Francisco, USA.
- Founding member of the Swiss Polar Foundation Lausanne, Switzerland.
- Member of the Board of Arctic Circle Foundation, Reykjavik, Iceland.
- Member of the Board of UArctic, Rovaniemi, Finland.
- Director of Philip Morris International, USA, Chairman of the Product Innovation and Regulatory Affairs Committee.
Previous affiliations
- Member, Board of Overseers, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston MA, USA.