Jim Frontero - President & Head of Sales Straumann USA
Jim Frontero has been President of Straumann USA since October 2006. Prior to joining Straumann in 2005 as Senior Vice President of Sales, Jim spent 15 years at the Boston Scientific Corporation. There, he took on increasing responsibilities in sales management - first in the Peripheral Vascular Division, then in the Oncology Division, and finally in the Endoscopy Division, where he became Director, Global Marketing & US Sales. During his time at Boston Scientific he also completed an Executive MBA program from Boston University. Jim began his career at SmithKline Beecham, after receiving a Bachelor of Science from Cornell University.
Jim is a highly experienced manager with an impressive track record. His career includes 19 years in sales and marketing in the medical device industry, giving him a thorough understanding of customer requirements and service.
Dr. Gerhard Bauer, President of Straumann Manufacturing Inc, and Sr. Vice President Global Production
Gerhard Bauer, who is a seasoned executive with broad experience in global operations, joins us from NextPharma Technologies, a specialist company based in the UK and serving the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. As Senior Vice President of Operations, he oversaw the company’s manufacturing operations in Belgium, France and the US.
Having trained as a pharmacist, he has worked in the healthcare industry since 1982. Prior to joining NextPharma, he spent 16 years at Bausch & Lomb Inc., a global leader in eye-care products including contact lenses, equipment and implants. There he held several positions in Operations with growing responsibility, culminating in his appointment as SVP Global Operations and Engineering. Previously he was with Ciba Vision Opthalmics and Beecham Wülfing in Germany.
Gerhard Bauer obtained his Master of Science degree in Pharmaceutics and his PhD in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from Munich University.
Karin Steinemann, Chief Financial Officer
Karin Steinemann came on board as Chief Financial Officer at Straumann USA in September 2010. She is a Swiss certified expert for accounting and controlling as well as a certified IFRS/IAS Accountant.
She started her career as a Finance Consultant and for the last 14 years she held several managerial positions in Finance in the airport industry. Her last position was an international assignment in Bangalore (India) as Chief Financial Officer for Bangalore International Airport Ltd. Prior to this assignment she worked for Flughafen Zuerich AG as Deputy CFO.
With her track record in various financial management positions and international assignments, Karin is a highly experienced manager with profound knowledge in handling all financial matters.
Patrick Kuster - Vice President, Marketing North America
Patrick Kuster joined the Straumann North American lead team as Vice President, Marketing North America in July 2010. Patrick began his tenure with Straumann in Feb 2009 as Head of Global Marketing, Regenerative, and played a key role in further developing Straumann’s regenerative product line. He started his career at Geistlich Pharma AG as a Sales Manager with responsibilities for several countries in Europe and overseas. After 4 years in this sales position he led their global marketing over a period of two and a half years.
Patrick holds a master’s degree in molecular biology from the University of Zürich.
With his experience of more than 10 years in Marketing and Sales, most of which he spent in the medical device industry, Patrick brings a broad wealth of management skills and leadership experience to our team.
Dick Saporito - Vice President, Human Resources
Dick joined Straumann in January of 2007 as Vice President, Human Resources. He holds a BA and MBA in Human Resources Management from State University of New York. Dick spent sixteen years at Hadco Corporation where he rose from Manager, HR to Senior VP, HR & Administration. Following Hadco, Dick served as Vice President at Circuit Search for over five years, and later as VP of HR at Northeast Credit Union for three years before joining Straumann.
Dick is a results-driven HR executive with over twenty years of experience directing strategic national and global initiatives. Through various programs and initiatives, Dick has had a key hand in re-shaping the Human Resources department. He is a visionary change manager adept in employee relations, policy development, and process improvement. His improvements touch not only those in his department, but also the organization as a whole.
Douglas Fogg - Vice President, Operations
Douglas graduated from Northeastern University in Boston, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. His 20 years of experience have been spent in the medical device industry with a focus on design, manufacturing, and regulatory. To date, Douglas is listed as the inventor of 11 patents in the medical device area.
Before joining Straumann in June 2004 as Director of Production, Douglas worked for Smith & Nephew Dyonics, D&R Products, Onyx Medical, and Medtronic, where he gained his extensive experience through several managerial positions in designing, engineering, business development and production management.
During his tenure at Straumann, Douglas has built the new production team of Straumann Manufacturing Inc. from 2 employees to its present 100 employees. He was promoted to his current position in October 2007.
