Here's what the 59-year-old CEO of a $50 billion healthcare company does to stay fit (SHGP)

pulse

July 18, 2017 12:22 PM

Shire CEO Flemming Ornskov thinks routines are very important and tries to swim every day.

Shire CEO Flemming Ornskov

Flemming Ornskov has a lot on his plate as the CEO of $50 billion drugmaker Shire, which is known for making ADHD medicine, like Adderall and Vyvanse, and its focus on rare diseases like the blood disorder hemophilia.

Even so, Ornskov told Business Insider that he still makes time to maintain his health through daily activities.

"I think a routine is very important," Ornskov told Business Insider. "When I'm at home I swim every morning." When he's on the road, he looks for hotels that have pools. On the weekends he goes running.

In addition to physical activity, Ornskov makes time in his day for mental activities as well.

"I force myself to read books," he said. "I think that in today's environment you get inundated with short-term snippets of something. So I force myself to try to read books all the time."

Lately, Ornskov said he's been reading about aging and its effects on our society, particularly when it comes to keeping those folks healthy.

"A lot of these diseases that we're dealing with affect elderly people," he said. "What is very interesting is that we're going to be faced with a lot of questions about an increasing amount of our healthcare dollar going to to the last six to 12 months."

pulse