John Kringel, BA, MBA, specializes in the planning and execution of comprehensive marketing strategies, including the development and launch of new medical devices and branding at both the product and company levels. He is an accomplished medical device marketing executive of 25 years. Since 2009, he has held leadership positions in the orthodontic industry, developing a true passion for dentistry. John has a consistent track record of driving growth and positive business results while holding progressively more responsible positions in medical and dental marketing.
Professional Experience
Immediately prior to joining Cellerant, he was vice president of marketing for Propel Orthodontics, a late-stage start-up company in the accelerated orthodontics space. With Propel, he launched products that doubled the breadth of the company's portfolio as part of an overall marketing strategy that supported Propel's ongoing hypergrowth.
Before Propel, John served as director of marketing for DENTSPLY's orthodontic division, DENTSPLY GAC. He built and developed a professional marketing department for GAC, which included defining the departmental vision, designing the organizational structure, staffing, professional development of the marketing team members, and establishing the divisional brand.
In March 2011, when GAC's exclusive supplier of orthodontic products was virtually destroyed in the Japanese nuclear disaster, his newly formed marketing team became central in the effort to recover and rebuild GAC's business. For their post-crisis business recovery initiatives, John and his team were recognized with DENTSPLY's prestigious Global Marketing Award for Creative Leadership. The Global Marketing Award for Creative Leadership goes to the marketing group from among DENTSPLY's 30+ global divisions that best exhibits creative and strategic excellence in driving successful business results.
Like Dr. Shuman, John has witnessed and supports the incredible generosity in giving back to the community exhibited by the dental profession. Since 2014, John has served on the board of the AAO Donated Orthodontic Services program (AAODOS) working with AAO board members, AAO employees, and other representatives from the orthodontic industry. The DOS program provides pro bono orthodontic treatment for low-income children and teens who do not qualify for other types of treatment coverage. John led a committee to develop a marketing plan for the AAODOS to support a five-year plan to grow the number of participating states, orthodontic providers, and patients treated. At the 2014 AAO annual meeting in New Orleans, John and the GAC marketing team organized an event with Habitat for Humanity that included their orthodontic customers, strategic partners, and leadership from both GAC and DENTSPLY corporate headquarters. The team spent the day before the AAO meeting building houses and renovating properties in areas of New Orleans that are still blighted more than 10 years after Hurricane Katrina.
Before finding the dental industry, John held marketing leadership positions with medical device companies focused on the surgical arena, including Medical Action Industries, a NASDAQ-traded growth company, U.S. Surgical, and Baxter International — both large blue-chip companies. During his tenure with Medical Action, the company grew from $80M to $300M with a combination of both organic growth and acquisitions. As senior director of planning and business development, John successfully integrated acquisitions of $40M and $100M. Prior to that, John was Medical Action's first-ever director of marketing, again being charged with starting and managing a professional marketing organization in a rapidly growing environment. As director of marketing for U.S. Surgical's $150M Laparoscopic Access business, he led due diligence and closed and integrated the $180M acquisition of Innerdyne Inc., repositioning the business for growth with innovative products and strategic intellectual property.
John started his medical device career with Baxter International in sales and rapidly progressed to hold several different market manager positions. As market manager for V. Mueller, Baxter's surgical instrument division, he was recognized with the Market Manager of the Year Award for growing a mature product portfolio well in excess of the market for consecutive years.
John earned his MBA from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business with concentrations in corporate strategy and marketing. While at Wharton, John was president of the Wharton Roadrunners Club and worked as a consultant for the Wharton Computer and Information Technology center, teaching classes in personal computing applications and troubleshooting technical issues for both students and faculty. John received his undergraduate degree from Colgate University in mathematical economics, graduating cum laude.
John has three children, two of whom are attending the University of Connecticut as undergraduates. His oldest daughter is pursuing a doctorate in physical therapy, also at the University of Connecticut. He currently resides in Monroe, Connecticut with his wife Sheila.
Areas of Expertise
• Product development and launch
• Corporate and product brand strategy
• Dental opinion leader marketing programs
• Analytical decision making
• Cross-functional team collaboration and leadership
• Innovative program design for competitive advantage
• Media campaign planning and execution
• Conception and development of effective selling strategies and support tools
• Annual planning (strategic and quantitative)