By Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen and Maggie Fick

COPENHAGEN/LONDON (Reuters) -Novo Nordisk faces a shareholder backlash on Friday as the Danish drugmaker’s minority investors prepare a protest vote against a board shake-up forced through by its dominant shareholder, the Novo Nordisk Foundation.

The Foundation, which holds 77% of voting rights, plans to install its chairman, Lars Rebien Sorensen, as Novo’s new board chair. It wants to make the firm more aggressive in the obesity drug market as U.S. rival Eli Lilly streaks ahead.

The move has split investors, with some saying it was key to regain lost momentum and others raising governance concerns.

“From the outside, it has not been a pretty process, tarnishing the company’s image,” said Claus Berner Moller, vice president for Danish equities

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