- "Children mean everything to us. Children and their development. And this must pervade everything we do."
- ―Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen
Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen (born December 27, 1947) was the president and CEO of The LEGO Group between 1979 and 2004. He appeared as the narrator in "The LEGO Story".
Biography
Kjeld was born 27 December 1947 in Billund, Denmark. His father, Godtfred Kirk Christiansen worked with his grandfather, Ole Kirk Christiansen, in the family business: LEGO. As a child, he often inspired and tested new model concepts and their building instructions for their company. He also appeared on many of the company's packages and marketing materials. In 1979, he became president and CEO of the LEGO Group. Kjeld introduced themes, Minifigures, LEGO.com, Mindstorms and licensed properties such as Star Wars. 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.
LEGO is privately held and is controlled by the Christiansen Family and their foundations. In 2007, Forbes Magazine listed him as the richest person in Denmark with a fortune of $3.3 billion. Kjeld and his wife, Camilla, still live in Denmark and have raised three children and now have two grandchildren. In 2008 Kjeild was submitted into the Toy Hall of Fame. He is the richest man in Denmark.
See also
External Links
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Management Board | Jesper Andersen \ Niels Christiansen \ Atul Bhardwaj \ Colette Burke \ Julia Goldin \ John Goodwin \ Bali Padda \ Carsten Rasmussen \ Loren I. Shuster | |||
Board of Directors | Ebi Atawodi \ Fiona Dawson \ Jørgen Vig Knudstorp \ Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen \ Thomas Kirk Kristiansen \ Jan Thorsgaard Nielsen \ Ilkka Paananen \ Anne Sweeney | |||
Community Team | Jan Beyer \ Tim Courtney \ Hani Dib \ Peter Espersen \ Kevin Hinkle \ John Longbottom \ Pelle Bjorn Nielsen \ Jordan Paxton \ José Pereira \ Kristina Rasmussen \ Keith Severson \ Sara Skahill \ Helene Teichert \ Kim Thomsen \ Hannah Quill | |||
Designers | Henrik Andersen \ Steen Sig Andersen \ Jamie Berard \ Marcos Bessa \ Antica Bracanov \ Bas Brederode \ Mel Caddick \ Tiago Catarino \ Freddy Charters \ Andrew Clark \ Rosario Costa \ Nathan Davis \ Søren Dyrhøj Randy Elliot \ Greg Farshtey \ Marta Fernandez \ Niels M. Frederiksen \ Sven Franic \ Leigh Gallagher \ George Gilliatt \ Casper Glahder \ Ilia Gotlib \ Adam Grabowski \ Morten Graff-Wang \ Anderson Ward Grubb \ Janko Grujic \ Stuart Harris \ Lars Joe Hyldig \ Wes Jenkins \ Erik Jensen \ Samuel Liltorp Johnson \ Jens Nygaard Knudsen \ Rok Žgalin Kobe \ Daniel August Krentz \ Kurt Kristiansen \ Joe Kyde \ Edward Lawrence \ Benjamin Liboriussen \ Jeremy Luettgen \ Milan Madge \ Bjarke Lykke Madsen \ James May \ Carl Merriam \ Pop Mhan \ Florian Müller \ Pierre Normandin \ Jan Neergaard Olesen \ Madison O’Neil \ Chris Perron \ Laura Perron \ Harald Pofahl \ Mike Psiaki \ Leon Pijnenburg \ Justin Ramsden \ Milan Reindl \ Markus Rollbühler \ Henrik Rubin Saaby \ Stuart Sayger \ Hans Burkhard Schlömer \ Jordan David Scott \ Hans Henrik Sidenius \ Torben Skov \ Niek van Slagmaat \ Isaac Snyder \ Mark Stafford \ Dimitrios Stamatis \ Corvin Stichert \ Marin Stipkovic \ Chris Stamp \ Wes Talbott \ Adam Reed Tucker \ Atticus Tsai-McCarthy \ Nick Vas \ Ashwin Visser \ Christian Vonsild \ Jme Wheeler \ Ryan Baird-Van Woerkom \ Jason Zapantis | |||
Certified Professionals | Nicholas Foo \ Rene Hoffmeister \ Sean Kenney \ Ryan McNaught \ Matija Puzar \ Robin Sather \ Nathan Sawaya \ Adam Reed Tucker \ Beth Weis | |||
Media | James May \ Chris Pratt \ Cryoshell \ Michael Peña | |||
Other | Gerhardt Kirk Christiansen \ Godtfred Kirk Christiansen \ Gunhild Kirk Johansen \ Hanne Christiansen \ Helge Torpe \ Hilary Fisher Page \ Jesse Shwayder \ Karl Georg Kirk Christiansen \ King David Shwayder \ Mogans Johansen \ Ole Kirk Christiansen \ Sten Daugaard \ Mads Nipper |