Align Technology Inc, San Jose, Calif, announced that Simon Beard, senior vice president and managing director for the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) region, has been appointed senior vice president and managing director for the Americas region. Markus Sebastian, vice president for the company’s Europe orthodontic channel, has been promoted to senior vice president and managing director for the EMEA region. Both positions are effective June 17, 2019.
“I am very excited to have Simon [Beard] lead the Americas, our largest region for the company, and to have his successor Markus, who has managed the core Europe orthodontist channel for the past year, assume responsibility for the entire EMEA region,” said Joe Hogan, Align CEO. “Under Simon’s leadership, the EMEA region has consistently grown more than 30% CAGR with strong performance across the entire region and customer base. His knowledge of the market and ability to drive strategic programs and initiatives across the region have delivered exceptional results and make him the ideal leader for the Americas region.”
According to the company, Beard has been responsible for Align‘s market development and operational execution of all products and services in the EMEA region since 2014. Prior to Align, he spent more than 25 years in the pharmaceuticals and medical device industries, including as regional director for Smith & Nephew’s South East Asia business, and in multiple commercial, strategic and general management positions in companies such as DePuy International (Johnson & Johnson), Sankyo Pharmaceutical, and Sanofi Aventis.
Sebastian has been responsible for Align’s core Europe commercial organizations focused on the orthodontic channel. He has also served as interim GM of the DACH and France country markets. Prior to Align, he spent more than 25 years in the healthcare and medical device industries, including as chief commercial officer for Lohmann & Rauscher, and in multiple commercial, strategic and general management positions for Smith & Nephew and Coloplast.
“Markus [Sebastian] is an experienced leader and general manager with a proven track record in global commercial operations and sales, strategic marketing, product development, and change management processes,” said Hogan. “His deep understanding of the healthcare markets in EMEA, Asia Pacific, and the US are an asset to our company and I am very pleased to have him join our executive team.”
