
About us
KR Foundation was established in December 2014 by VILLUM FONDEN and the descendants of Msc (Eng) Villum Kann Rasmussen. The foundation is based in Copenhagen, Denmark, but works internationally as well as nationally. We collaborate closely with THE VELUX FOUNDATIONS and the V. Kann Rasmussen Foundation.
In 2021, THE VELUX FOUNDATIONS and KR Foundation launched a new initiative in Denmark named 70by30. The project is designed to support the realization of the Danish 70 pct. greenhouse gas emissions reduction goal in 2030 and aims to enable informed decision making on climate change mitigation at all levels of society to catalyze the necessary, accelerated climate action.
Meet the board

Former European Commissioner for Climate Action (2010 – 2014). Prior to her position as Commissioner, she was Minister for The United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen (2009), Danish Minister of Climate and Energy (2007-2009), and Danish Minister for Environment (2004-2007). Presently Chair of and Board member in various organizations and committees.
Appointed by the founders 2015-2018, 2019-2021 and 2022-2024.
(Born 1961)
Other positions
- Chair of the Board for Berlingske Media, DPG Group
- Chair of the Board for the EU Commissions Mission Board on Adaptation to Climate Change including Societal Change
- Chair of the Board for Aarhus University
- Chair of the Board for Denmark’s green think tank CONCITO
- Chair of OECD’s Round Table for Sustainable Development
- Chair of the Board of Grønnegårds Theatre
- Member of the Board of European Climate Foundation
- Member of the Board of Danish Technological Institute
- Member of the Supervisory Board of Danfoss
- Member of the Supervisory Board of Nordex
- Member of the Sustainability Council of Volkswagen
- Member of the Board for Denmark’s annual Democracy Festival, Folkemoedet

Descendant of Villum Kann Rasmussen and Chair of V. Kann Rasmussen Foundation.
Appointed by the founders 2015-2018, 2019-2021 and 2022-2024. Owns <5% B-shares in VKR Holding A/S.
(Born 1974)
- Chair of V. Kann Rasmussen Foundation

Cand.merc. and Ph.d. in management. Eva is a partner in Zeuthen Storm working with recruitment for management positions and management development, both within the public and private sector, as well as with management and board evaluations. Elected by the Board 2021-2024 as an independent Board member. (Born 1964).
- Chairman of the Board, CBS Executive Foundation
- Board Member, Oxford Research Denmark
- Board Member, Synoptik Foundation
- Board Member, VILLUM Foundation
- Member of the Government’s Committee on Management 2017-2018

Maja Göpel is a political economist, transformation researcher, and sustainability scientist with a focus on combining research and practice. In 2016, she published her book “The Great Mindshift: How a New Economic Paradigm and Sustainability Transformations Go Hand in Hand” that summarises research on systematic transformations of political economy and change management. Göpel is a member of the International Club of Rome and the World Future Council. She is also among the Initiators of Scientists4Future initiative in Germany.
Elected by the Board 2023-2026 as an independent Board member.
(Born 1976)
- Member: The Board of Trustees of the Museum of Natural History Berlin
- Member: The Advisory Board of the Bartlett School of Environment, Energy and Resources (BSEER) at the University College London
- Member: Advisory Board of the ZOE Institute for Future-fit Economies
- Member: The Board of Trustees of WWF Germany

CEO of REV Ocean, the world’s largest Research and Expedition Vessel (REV). Previously, Nina has worked 15 years at WWF-Norway, where she became CEO in 2012. She holds a master’s degree in Marine Biology from the University of Fishery Science in Tromsø, and has a background in communications and marketing from Ogilvy& Mather. She was named Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2014.
Elected by the Board 2022-2025 as an independent Board member.
(Born 1975)
- Board Member, The Business for Peace Foundation
- Board Member, HUB Ocean
- Board member, The Brain Tumour Association
- Board member, Ocean Wise
- Board member, Aker Offshore Wind
- Board member, Aker CarbonCapture
- Board member, Project Energy PER-A
- Advisor, The High-Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy

Director of Centre for Sustainability and Energy at the Norwegian Business School. Per Espen is a psychologist with PhD in economics and a TED Global speaker. He is an experienced foresight facilitator and academic, and the co-founder of the clean-tech company GasPlas. He is the author of several books, among them Money & Soul (2009), the award-winning book What We Think About When We Try Not To Think About Global Warming (2015), Tomorrow’s Economy (2021) and Earth For All (2022) with the Club of Rome. Per Espen has served as member of Norwegian Parliament, and on the EU Commission’s mission board on Horizon Europe’s Climate Change and Societal Adaptation.
Elected by the Board 2023-2026 as an independent Board member.
(Born 1967)
Five out of six KR Foundation Board members are independent. Board members are appointed or elected for a term of three years at a time. Appointment, election and re-election usually take place in connection with the annual meeting of the Foundation. If a vacancy arises during a term of office, the appointment and election may, however, take place at the following board meeting. Re-election is possible, however, not more than twice. Appointment, election or re-election is not possible if the member has reached the age of 75 years.
KR Foundation Board members must be legally competent, reputable, reliable and mature as well as fulfil the statutory requirements for serving as a Board member. In connection with the election of members to the Board, efforts will also be made to ensure that the Board members together possess the qualifications desired for the performance of the overall purposes of the Foundation, and that such qualifications include professional insight and a relevant international network within the fields of environment, climate, nature, sustainability, resilience, finance, communication, political processes, processes of changes, etc. KR Foundation Board members and Vice-Chair receive DKK 150,000 annually in compensation. The Chair receives DKK 450,000 annually.
Meet the staff

Brian heads and manages KR Foundation. Brian’s responsibilities are, among other, to design, develop and implement strategic plans for KR Foundation, and to lead the day-to-day operation of the organization.
Before joining KR Foundation, Brian has, among other, held a position as COO of CLEAN, Denmark’s largest cluster organisation promoting green innovation, and a position as Chief Special Advisor in the Danish Ministry of Economics & Business Affairs.
In addition to his job at KR Foundation, Brian is an impact investment advisor to climate venture capital funds and climate start-up accelerator platforms such as Planetary Impact Ventures, VÅR Ventures, and Massive.Earth.
Brian has an Exective MBA from IMD, and a master’s degree in comparative literature and sociology from University of Aarhus.
Email: bvs@krfnd.org
Phone: +45 2252 5590

Rosa is responsible for KR Foundation’s work within the national Danish context. The main project being 70by30, an ambitious climate programme that aims to support the realisation of the national CO2-reduction target of 70 pct. in 2030. 70by30 is carried out in close corporation with the VELUX FOUNDATIONS.
Rosa has got 15 years+ experience working with strategic partnerships and policy development in the environmental- and health sectors. Before joining KR Foundation Rosa has, among others, held positions as chief of staff at Nord Zealand Hospital, head of department at Capital Region of Denmark, network manager at CLEAN Cluster and policy advisor at Wind Denmark.
Please contact Rosa if you would like to discuss KR Foundation’s work in Denmark.
Email: rka@krfnd.org
Phone: +45 3046 3639

Jakob is responsible for KR Foundation’s communication and event activities.
Jakob has a master’s degree in Communications and has more than nine years of experience in strategic communication, journalism and public relations having worked in Denmark, the US and Kenya. He has previously held positions at Monday Morning, Revolt and Coloplast and have among others worked freelance for Vice Media, Advice and CO+.
Please contact Jakob for any press inquiries, collaboration on communication and event activities or grants for climate communication projects.
Email: jn@krfnd.org
Phone: +45 5191 1466

Astrid is managing KR Foundation’s Sustainable Finance programme. Astrid takes care of the grant-making process for initiatives relevant to the programme’s priority areas on shifting public and private financial flows away from fossil fuels, and focuses on developing new strategic initiatives relevant to these themes.
Astrid has a master’s degree in sociology, with a background in international development, politics and diplomacy. Astrid has multiple years of experience in the non-profit and public sector and has previously held positions at the Danish civil society platform Globalt Fokus, at the European Commission, and with several NGOs and ministries.
Please contact Astrid if you would like to discuss KR Foundation’s funding of work relevant to sustainable finance.
Email: aa@krfnd.org
Phone: +45 2236 0879

Asger is managing KR Foundation’s Sustainable Behavior programme, where he develops and drives our new strategic focus on fossil advertising.
Asger holds a master’s degree in political science from Aarhus University and University of Washington. He has previously worked as a civil servant in the Danish Ministry of Finance, worked with public affairs at Grundfos and with network-building at the think-tank Monday Morning.
Email: an@krfnd.org
Phone: +45 2071 6151

Tanja is responsible for grants management, the daily office administration and assists the management and Board of the Foundation.
Prior to joining KR Foundation Tanja has worked as Project Assistant and Project Officer at CLEAN – a green cluster organization, Copenhagen Capacity and the Danish Technological Institute and has 14 years of experience working with administration, communication and event planning.
Email: tws@krfnd.org
Phone: +45 2383 2467

Thea has a master’s degree in law from the University of Copenhagen with a primary focus on international and EU environmental law.
Thea has worked with international UN negotiations as well as a policy advisor and stakeholder manager within the public sector. Thea has more than 5 years of experience with the public sector holding positions at the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Transport and the Danish Environmental Protection Agency.
Email: tb@krfnd.org
Phone: +45 2483 6380

Email: ilh@krfnd.org
Phone: +45 3168 4746

Christopher will primarily help Tanja Wetterstein Simonsen in the daily administration of KR Foundation. Christopher is currently pursuing his master’s degree in biology at the University of Copenhagen.
He has previously been working in climate-related research and has been a part of the working group formulating the “Biosustainability 2030” plan at the biological department of the University of Copenhagen.
Email: cs@krfnd.org