Driven by conviction – pointed to success
Passion, competence and inspiration are the keynotes of the DENTSPLY Friadent Management Committee in working with employees to improve the success of customers of the company. All members of the committee bring years of experience to their areas of expertise and our company values are marked by their enthusiasm: high quality, service orientation, reliability, interest, passion, enthusiasm.
Dr. Werner Groll, born 1954
Managing Director
The materials scientist has been involved in dentistry for more than 25 years and is known in professional circles as the "Nestor of implantology“. His industrial career started with Degussa in research and development of dental materials after his doctorate in 1984. He was manager of the noble-metal materials department for two years in the field of metal production technology, materials development. As director of the New Business department at Degussa Dental he established the implant division, which he managed from 1994 to 2002. He has been managing director of DENTSPLY Friadent since May 2002 and has led the implant manufacturer to the number three position in the world implant market.
Dr. Volker Biehl, born 1963
Research and Development
After a degree in materials science and his doctorate he was appointed lecturer in materials science with an emphasis on metallic materials at the University of the Saarland in Saarbrücken and director of the biomaterials department. He has numerous scientific publications in books and peer-reviewed journals and has lectured at a wide range of international specialist conferences. From 2002 to 2005 he was employed by medical technology manufacturer Stryker Leibinger with responsibility for quality testing, validations and production optimization and worked on various development projects. In 2006 he came to DENTSPLY Friadent and is responsible for the development of new products. In 2007 he was appointed manager of the Research and Development Department.
Norbert Rabenstein, born 1972
Operations
The Head of Implant Production at DENTSPLY Friadent has well-grounded skills and many years experience in a variety of production processes, planning, organization and qualification of production processes. After his mechanical engineering studies and further training as a welding engineer, he was initially employed at Mannesmann Sachs AG. At the end of 1997, he moved into the Dental Business Branch of DeguDent AG, where, two years later, he was made responsible for the construction of implant components. In 2004, he became Head of Precious Metal Production. From 2006, he also led the Production Division of Cercon-Rohling (Compartis). In 2010, he took over the management of the Micromechanics and Implant Fabrication at the production site in Hanau and, thanks to targeted measures, was able to achieve a considerable increase in efficiency in the production area, while maintaining a consistently high delivery capacity. On March 1, 2012, Norbert Rabenstein commenced in his position as Director Operations at DENTSPLY Friadent. In this position, he is responsible for all areas of operations (purchasing, scheduling, production planning and management, process technology, surface technology, implant finish, packaging, logistics), both in Mannheim and in the Micromechanics Fabrication in Hanau.
Stefan Fischer, born 1966
Director Quality and Compliance
Stefan Fischer is a trained plastics engineer and has a degree in Business Administration. After completing his studies, he held various positions of increasing responsibility in international medical technology companies as Regulatory and Scientific Affairs Manager and as Quality Assurance Manager. Among other posts, he was employed by Smiths Medical for many years as Regulatory and Scientific Affairs Director, Director Management System Integration and Environmental Performance and, following this, most recently as Technical Director / Authorized Representative for a spin-off subsidiary of Smiths Medical. From 2006 to 2008, Stefan Fischer was the CEO of a medical engineering start-up company before he joined Dentsply VDW as Director Quality Assurance and Regulatory Affairs in 2008. In addition to this task, as Operational Director for an Italian subsidiary of DENTSPLY International, he was responsible for production, purchasing and service. Mr. Fischer has extensive and well-grounded skills in the areas of quality assurance and in licensing matters, as well as in the constitution and development of organizational units and has many years of management and leadership experience. On April 1, 2012, Stefan Fischer commenced in his position as Vice President Quality Assurance / Regulatory Affairs at DENTSPLY Implants.
Dr. Martin Groten, born 1965
Clinical Research and Education
The qualified dentist studied and took his doctorate at the University of Tübingen. He was initially a dentist and scientific associate at the Teaching Hospital for Dental Prosthetics with Propedeutics at the Center for Dental, Oral and Orthodontic Medicine in Tübingen. In 1999 he became a senior physician with management functions and personnel management in the hospital and outpatient clinic for research, teaching and patient care. His main research areas were clinical studies clinical studies and clinical trials, full-ceramic systems, modern materials and new technologies in clinical applications and also clinical implantology and implant prosthetics. Dr. Groten has also presented numerous lectures and presentations at numerous national and international specialist conferences and is on the faculty of the medical school at the University of Tübingen.
Oliver Betsch, born 1965
Sales
The experienced marketing specialist started his career in 1985 in industrial sales at Degussa AG. He spent three years in Verona, Italy, from 1996 to 1999 as managing director of DefraDental, a joint venture with Degussa Dental, where he gained his foreign experience. He was then appointed sales manager and one year later sales director for the implant division at Degussa Dental in Germany. In 2002 he was appointed sales director at DENTSPLY Friadent and became responsible for the international implant business and a short time later the domestic implant business. In 2007 he also become responsible for the subsidiaries of DENTSPLY Friadent.
Birgit Dillmann, born 1966
Marketing
With a diploma in business she worked her way from product management to marketing director for world brands in the food industry and pharmaceuticals for ten years before joining the implantology industry. She is an extremely successful marketing specialist and since 2004 has been responsible for converting DENTSPLY Friadent in Mannheim from an implant system supplier to a global brand and the partner of choice for success in implantology.
Ivan Zeljkovic, born 1968
Finance
The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the DENTSPLY Friadent Group has many years of experience and manages the complete range of the finance division. After high-school graduation and qualification in business at the E. Merck pharmaceutical company in Darmstadt he studied commerce in Mainz with majors in finance and auditing. After a few years as a controller at John O. Butler Europe GmbH he went to an auditing and tax consultant, where among other duties he established a branch in Zagreb (Croatia). In 1998 he became controller and finance manager at S.E.S.A. Software und System AG and managed the complete finance and accounting department. In 2002 he became Director Accounting & Controlling at DeguDent GmbH. Within DENTSPLY he switched to DeTrey GmbH in Constance in 2005, where he was also CFO until he came to DENTSPLY Friadent in 2008.
Matthias Koch, born 1965
Personnel
A qualified salesman, for the first five years after his Business Management studies (majoring in Personnel Management and Industrial Law) Matthias Koch worked as a human resources officer with the Schwaebisch Hall Home Loan Bank, before he became Personnel Manager for Degussa AG in 1996. In 2000 he supervised Degussa AG's outsourcing of Degussa Dental and subsequently took over the position as the Personnel Manager of the newly formed enterprise. He has been Director of Human Resources for DENTSPLY Friadent since July of 2004. Matthias Koch has nearly 20 years of experience in the personnel field and knows the dental industry very well. He is also an Honorary Magistrate at the Labor Court.