Falck A/S is a Danish organization with activities in most areas of Europe and representation on five continents. It has four business areas: healthcare, assistance, safety services and emergency assistance. The firm has 27,000 employees in 30 countries. The company's current CEO is Jakob Riis. History The company was founded in 1906 by Sophus Falck after he witnessed and volunteered at a fire at the Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1884. The lack of organization made a big impression on him, and motivated the creation of Falck later on in 1906. His mission was to help others in emergency situations. Today, Falck operates in 30 countries and on six continents. By 1956, the firm was a nationwide operator with 100 rescue stations in Denmark, and the company expanded seven years later by acquiring the shares of the Zonen rescue service, their main Danish road assistance competitor. In 1988, The Falck family sold the firm to Baltica, a Danish-based insurer. The company purchased the security service division ISS Securitas from ISS in 1993, the first in a series of mergers, which later included both Group 4 Securicor and Wackenhut. In 1999 Nederlandse Veiligheidsdienst was purchased by Falck. The company later merged its activities in the security field with Securicor Plc. That new company was named Group4Securicor. In connection with the merger, Falck was separated from Group 4 Falck and listed independently on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange. Danish media described the separation as "Falck returns to its roots". In February 2005 Falck was delisted from the Copenhagen Stock Exchange because Nordic Capital had bought the shares of Falck. Falck has now re-entered the security field. In 2011, Nordic Capital sold its shares, making the principal shareholders The Lundbeck Foundation and KIRKBI. Falck funds its acquisitions and capital expenditures out of its own operating cash flows. The majority of the company is owned by two Danish nonprofit foundations: Lundbeck, a global pharmaceutical company, and the KIRKBI Group, a 75% holder of The Lego Group Services Falck A/S provides health, safety, roadside assistance and other services to corporate customers and private households in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Poland and Estonia. Its international operation also includes activities in countries like Belgium, Brazil, Finland, Lithuania, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Russia, Sri Lanka, Trinidad and Tobago, the United Kingdom, the United States, Uruguay and Panamá. Falck Safety Services—formerly called Training—is a provider of rescue and