Regeneration contributes to a better quality of life
“Time to unleash Geistlich’s energy!” Interview with Dr. Ralf Halbach conducted by Thomas Pfyffer
Geistlich has had a long tradition as a pioneer in regeneration. What achievements do you hope to achieve next?
Having started at Geistlich Pharma in July 2021, Dr. Ralf Halbach took the reins as CEO. We review his first few months in the company and hazard a guess at what might be expected for Geistlich in the future. Dr. Halbach, what was it like to join Geistlich? Ralf Halbach: My start was of course marked by the pandemic, which made it more difficult for me to meet people faceto-face. There was a bit of a void during this time due to the absence of spontaneous company meetings, which were replaced by more video conferences and virtual meetings. But I found ways to interact with my co-workers within the company, for example, a blog or a series of “Let's Talk” video meetings in which we could connect. In a nutshell, this “onboarding” was special, requiring extraordinary responses to an extraordinary situation.
What will be the first thing you want to resume as soon as the situation allows? A major concern of mine is face-to-face visits with customers and meetings with our partners. I look forward to using these
opportunities, especially when Geistlich can once again be active and in attendance at congresses, symposia and industry events.
What are your first impressions of the company? I sense an inner fire and a great passion among our co-workers. At Geistlich we consider ourselves lucky to have many longstanding employees. Many of our staff have lived through a time of expansion and sustained success at Geistlich. These employees are proud of their joint achievements and commitments to regeneration. But I also notice great energy and a mood of invigoration, a wish to reboot after the pandemic and come to grips with new projects and topics – in line with the mantra: “Time to unleash Geistlich’s resources!”. All in all, this is a marvelous starting place for shaping the future together with my co-workers.
“Our competent network includes research institutes, leading experts and commercial partners.”
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GEISTLICH NEWS 2-2021
Regeneration is where we come from – this is where our roots are. We have spent decades creating unique expertise in this area, expertise which is unmatched. Within this complex and challenging topic we are aiming at further partnerships and breakthroughs. Our competent network includes research institutes, leading experts and commercial partners. We will continue to improve in order to achieve what we are: the regeneration expert, par excellence. The focus of our activities is and continues to be the patients for whom we are developing solutions.
What is your approach to innovation, and what sort of corporate culture will facilitate its achievement? For me it is important to have a pervasive culture of innovation. There is no way that innovation can be dictated from above! There must be courage to venture something, and, of course, innovation at Geistlich is not just confined to R&D. I am focused on a global approach, which includes, in part, our business model, marketing, our implementation of digitization and company training opportunities. To help our customers we contemplate optimal ways to organize and impart our trainings in such a way that they are accessible anywhere in the world. Techniques in the field of regeneration are often not necessarily learned at university but are introduced later on. This is where our expertise can render valuable service.
