A new CEO and a new CSO in just three months. That’s bound to rock the boat a little. But in our case, it’s been great.
Read this interviews with Ulrik Berthelsen, CEO, and Pia Stangerup, CSO, and find out what they have planned for our business and why we really enjoy having them on board.
What’s it like to be the new CEO of XO CARE?
Ulrik Berthelsen was appointed CEO at XO in mid-August. But how have the first 30 days been? “I was very eager to get started, and it’s been just as exciting, intense, and fun as I expected. One of the reasons I joined XO CARE is that I see the company as a diamond in the rough. It has so much untapped potential waiting to be unfolded,” Ulrik says.
“Some of the things that strike me about the company are the remarkable openness and dedication among the team and the number of opportunities we have. Going forward, one of our biggest tasks will no doubt be to decide which among many opportunities to pursue, and we must be very disciplined about that.”
With fresh eyes on the business, Ulrik has plans on how to further build on the company’s success. “2021/22 has been a busy and rewarding year for XO CARE, and there’s a great momentum in the business right now,” he says and continues, “we’re going to use this momentum to further accelerate our future growth. For the coming year we are focused on three must-win battles: 1) Strengthen our commercial set-up, 2) Ensure scalable and cost-efficient production and 3) Continuing the launch and evolution of the digital XO FLOW unit. We’re going to be extremely focused on succeeding with our must win battles and therefore there will be things we have to deprioritize.”
Making a strong brand stronger
Even though XO CARE is already a strong brand, there is always room for improvement. And Ulrik has plans on how to do that. He says that “we can do a lot more to increase brand awareness and ensure that dentists worldwide know about XO CARE. We need to be more visible in the market to ensure that dental practitioners know the exceptional solutions that we offer.”
As a closing comment, Ulrik adds: “Growth opportunities is something that appeals to me. It’s inspiring, rewarding and fun. And I really look forward to charting the course and refining the team culture that’s needed to fully ripe the opportunities and succeed.”
“XO FLOW is the dental unit if you are serious about dentistry. “
Pia Stangerup joined XO CARE as CSO in June, and she has fueled our sales activities with energy from day one. “I joined the business at a time when we were busy and like many others had challenges with supply. One of my first tasks was to plan how to set the right balance between ambitions and how to deliver on them,” Pia says. “For me there has been a fantastic foundation to build on with the absolute best and most innovative solutions, orders in the books, but it’s also clear to me that we need to lower our delivery times to honor the need and request from the market – my team is running very fast” she explains smilingly.
Before joining us, Pia held executive roles in high-tech and med-tech companies and had only scratched the surface of dentistry. So how has it been to go out on the dental market with a backpack full of XO products? “It´s a big pleasure to meet partners and dentists saying XO CARE products are the best products in the market – we can be extremely proud of that. Maybe we don’t always realize just how amazed and excited dental practitioners are when they try our products. The fact is that everyone I have met, think´s the XO FLOW and XO FLEX are the absolute best in the market,” Pia says.
“We are ambitious and plan to expand our position and gain market shares. You don’t achieve that without an effort, so we’ll work hard together with our partners to maintain a strong focus on launching the digital XO FLOW unit to all the dentists who haven’t heard of it yet,” Pia says when asked about the plans for the coming year.
“The XO CARE brand and products are known for an extremely high level of quality and innovation, and that’s a position we’ll build on because we do offer the best unit on the market. So, if you are a dentist and good ergonomics, good patient experience, best possible treatment and high return on investment is important to you, there’s only one unit for you, and that’s the digital XO FLOW unit – it´s the most innovative unit AND we keep developing it, so you can say it will grow with you, and that is crucial,” she continues.
Joining a company with a premium product range has been special for Pia, and she concludes: “I think the company’s success is the result of an amazing effort by our partners and employees, a strong professional network and an amazing product range which – without question – is the best on the market. Now, our job is to ensure that even more dental practitioners learn about what this means and how it will affect their working life and hence upgrade their clinics with our equipment and digital dental solutions.”