Leadership and Governance

DIS Structure

DIS is a Danish non-profit educational foundation governed by an external Board of Directors working closely with an Executive Director. The DIS Board of Directors appoints the Executive Director. The Executive Director establishes and leads the Executive team, which is the leadership group for the organization.

Board of Directors

The DIS Board consists of eight members. DIS is recognized by the Ministry of Higher Education & Science which appoints one member to the Board. Five members are selected by the Board appointed nomination committee which selects members based on the following qualifications: experience with business administration, knowledge of U.S. higher education, and knowledge of Danish higher education. In addition, two members are appointed by the DIS staff and faculty (one member each). The Board is committed to diversity and supports the election and appointment of diverse candidates to the Board.

The DIS Board of Directors consists of:

Charlotte Mark, Chair (Independent)
Managing Director, Microsoft Development Center Copenhagen ApS

First Election Date: April 2014
Latest Re-election Date: April 2022
End of Current Period: April 2026

Other leadership positions:

  • Chair of the Board, Meetingplace Wonderful Copenhagen
  • Board member, Danish Quantum Community
  • Chair of the Board, Science and Education, Confederation of Danish Industries (DI)

Peter Fly Lundby Hansen, Vice Chair (Independent)
Investor, Board member, Advisor

First Election Date: July 2020
Latest Re-election Date: n/a
End of Current Period: April 2024

Other leadership positions:

  • Chair of the Board, Scope Investment Fondsmæglerselskab A/S

Marcel Daniel Grüninger (Staff Appointee)
Associate Director of Housing & Student Affairs, DIS

First Election Date: April 2023
Latest Re-election Date: n/a
End of Current Period: April 2027

Other leadership positions: n/a

Regitze Hess (Faculty Appointee)
Architect and DIS Faculty

First Election Date: September 2020
Latest Re-election Date: April 2023
End of Current Period: April 2027

Other leadership positions:

  • CEO, International Federation for Housing and Planning (IFHP)

Per Hjuler (Independent)
Group Chief Marketing Officer, Norlys

First Election Date: April 2021
Latest Re-election Date: n/a
End of Current Period: April 2025

Other leadership positions: n/a

Trine Højbjerg Sand (Ministry of Higher Education & Science Appointee)
Deputy Director of Education and Students at Roskilde University

First Election Date: April 2022
Latest Re-election Date: n/a
End of Current Period: April 2026

Other leadership positions:

  • Member of Well-being Alliance, DJØF

Ellen Sayles (Independent)
Associate Dean and Director of Education Abroad at University of Richmond, U.S.A.

First Election Date: June 2022
Latest Re-election Date: n/a
End of Current Period: April 2024

Other leadership positions:

  • Member of University of Richmond Provost Search Committee
  • Board Member, Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia

Anne-Marie Skov (Independent)
Chair of the Board, Tuborg Foundation

First Election Date: April 2014
Latest Re-election Date: April 2021
End of Current Period: April 2025

Other leadership positions:

  • Chair of the Board, Collstrup Mindelegat
  • Board member, Foundation for Social Responsibility
  • Board member, Foundation for Vesterbro Settlement
  • Adjunct professor, Copenhagen Business School
  • Member of Strategy, Organization and Leadership/cand.merc Program Advisory Board, Copenhagen Business School
  • Member of Følgegruppen i CBS – Center for Civil Society Studies

Executive Director

Malene Torp became Executive Director in January 2014. Malene has a long history with DIS, starting as a Program Director in 2001. Since that time, she has held various positions including faculty member, Academic Director and, since 2008, Associate Director. In her role as Associate Director, she worked closely with the previous Director, U.S. partner institutions, the DIS faculty, and staff throughout the organization. She is a political scientist (Cand. Scient. Pol.) from the University of Copenhagen and was a Fulbright Scholar at New York University. In 2023, Malene was appointed to a three-year term on the Board of Directors of The Forum on Education Abroad, where she works with her fellow board members to create and implement strategic objectives for the leading association within the field of scholarship abroad. Malene continues to serve the mission of DIS and is committed to the DIS vision of ongoing program development, quality improvement, and strong partner relations.

Executive Team

The Executive team prepares strategic plans, handles significant or fundamental operational matters, and ensures effective communication channels at DIS. The Executive team handles, in particular, the organization’s strategy and action plan process, budget, major procurements and projects, DIS structure and organizational development, as well as major administrative and HR policies.

Read more about each Executive Team member here

School of Record

The University of Minnesota is the DIS school of record. The University of Minnesota works closely with DIS regarding curriculum and program quality through representation on the DIS Curriculum Committee and through program reviews every fourth year. DIS issues students a Final Grade Report after completion of the term of attendance. The student’s home institution determines whether the Final Grade Report from DIS is accepted directly, or whether an official transcript from a U.S. accredited institution is needed. If this is the case, the University of Minnesota acts as the School of Record and provides an official transcript.