Besenbacher: “Brian has the potential to become a great rector”

That’s the start of an e-mail sent to Omnibus by Brian Bech Nielsen’s colleague Flemming Besenbacher, who was director of iNANO until 2012 and is now chair of the Carlsberg Foundation. He also says what he thinks will be the new rector’s greatest challenge.

“Brian’s greatest challenge as rector will undoubtedly be the task of taking the process of academic and administrative change to stage two, and sorting out the administrative problems in particular. The focus must be placed on the students and staff, which will require the transfer of resources from the back office to the front office. In the near future Brian needs to define his new management team, and one of the personal challenges facing him will involve delegating enough tasks to other people in order to create enough time and space for strategic planning.”  

Flemming Besenbacher underlines that Brian Bech Nielsen already has insight into all the core activities of Aarhus University:

“He’s been a highly regarded lecturer and teacher for many years; even when he was quite young he built up his own group of researchers, which achieved international format; he has been a member of the research council for the sciences, so he’s been involved in the assessment of research council applications; and he also has experience of the business community as a member of the boards of two international corporations: Aarhus Karlshamn and United Plantations.”

Besenbacher has nothing but praise for his colleague’s social skills:

“Brian also has excellent social competences. He’s intelligent; he has a high sense of work commitment; he’s willing to listen to people; he has a great sense of humour; and he possesses true Danish virtues such as probity, honesty, conscientiousness and great personal integrity. As a dean Brian has won deserved acclaim for his good communication skills, his ability to talk to staff with mutual respect, and his ability to listen to what staff are saying. And finally, Brian is a true West Jutlander with all the persistence and ability to remain calm under pressure that this implies.”