John Westensee is the new deputy director of AU Research Support and External Relations. Westensee is currently acting deputy director of the administrative division. The new deputy director of AU IT and Digital Media is Peter Bruun Nielsen, who previously served as head of IT operations in Central Denmark Region.

2015.03.30 | Mette Helm

“The new members of the administration’s management team are both experienced, competent leaders,” says University Director Jane Kraglund. Photo: Lars Kruse, AU.

Peter Bruun Nielsen, head of IT operations in Central Denmark Region with responsibility for IT operations at the region’s hospitals and other business areas.

John Westensee, acting deputy director of AU Research Support and External Relations.

New deputy directors have been hired for AU IT and Digital Media and AU Research Support and External Relations, and they will start on 1 May 2015.  John Westensee, who has been acting deputy director of AU Research Support and External Relations since autumn 2014, will continue in that position. The new deputy director of AU IT and Digital Media is Peter Bruun, who comes to AU from a position as head of IT operations in Central Denmark Region.

According to University Director Jane Kraglund, both two new deputy directors combine professional expertise with a constructive management style, qualities the search committee emphasised highly:

“The new members of the administration’s management team are both experienced, competent leaders. This is an exciting time for the administration, but it’s also a challenging one, and to fill these deputy directorships, we need strong figures with the right professional and managerial abilities to make sure that these administrative divisions provide relevant, reliable service and that they continue to develop. It’s no secret that the university has high expectations of on John and Peter, and I’m absolutely certain that they will live up to them.”

AU IT and Digital Media gains deputy director with insight into complex organisations

Over the course of almost fifteen years of working with IT and IT management in various positions, Peter Bruun Nielsen has gained extensive experience with IT management, strategic development and operations. From 2001 to 2007, Nielsen served as IT consultant in the department of psychiatry and social services at the former Viborg County (now part of Central Denmark Region) with responsibility for developing and implementing IT solutions for the county’s psychiatric and social services facilities. From 2007 to 2009, Nielsen worked as project manager and manager in Central Denmark Region’s IT department, and since November 2009 he has served as head of IT operations in Central Denmark Region with responsibility for IT operations at the region’s hospitals and other business areas. As IT operations manager, Nielsen headed a department with four section managers and around eighty employees.

He graduated from Aarhus University in 1999 with an MSc degree in political science and a subsidiary subject in German. Since then, Peter has taken additional courses in management and IT.

“In relation to the position of deputy director of AU IT and Digital Media, we have emphasised the importance of extensive specialist experience with IT management in a large, complex organisation, and Peter has precisely the combination of IT expertise and managerial experience the university needs. Peter can both set ambitious goals and achieve them,” says Kraglund.

Peter Bruun Nielsen lives in Skødstrup north of Aarhus with his wife and their four boys. He spends his free time sailing, diving, skiing and mountain climbing.

New AU Research Support and External Relations deputy director has a proven track record

John Westensee brings over twenty years of experience with research support to the position of deputy director of AU Research Support and External Relations. After earning an MA in international business communication (cand.ling.merc.) in 1991, Westensee worked with research support for ten years in a variety of positions at the former Aarhus School of Business, including a posting in Brussels. The Aarhus municipal hospital established a research support office in 2002 headed by Westensee, who has contributed to expanding the office’s responsibilities over the years. Today the Research Support Office serves Aarhus University as well as the hospitals in Central Denmark Region.

Westensee’s work has contributed to the development of the concept of professional research support both in Denmark and abroad, and he has developed an extensive professional network in the field. Westensee was the first non-American elected as the chair of the Society of Research Administrators International, which has 4700 members worldwide.

In connection with the reorganisation of the administrative divisions at AU in October 2014,  he became acting deputy director of AU Research Support and External Relations. He will now have an opportunity to continue that work.

“John’s professional qualifications and documented results mean that he is the right man for the job. Both in connection with his previous position as manager of the Research Support Office and during his term as acting deputy director, John has demonstrated that he knows what he’s talking about and that he gets results. He also has a thorough understanding of AU and a solid network within and without the organisation that will benefit both him and us in relation to the tasks that need to be done in future,” says Kraglund.

Westensee and his wife recently celebrated their silver wedding anniversary, and they have three children aged 20, 22 and 24. He lives in the Åbyhøj neighbourhood in Aarhus and spends his limited free time playing golf.

Both deputy directors will start on 1 May 2015.