New regional director for Nobel Biocare

Nobel Biocare has appointed Sydney-born Mike Covey to the role of regional director for Australia and New Zealand following the return of Kishore Pranjivan to Canada where he has taken up the role of marketing director.

Mr Covey, an optometrist who transitioned into management of the world's third largest contact lens manufacturer (CooperVision) and headed the Australian and New Zealand operations before taking this new role, brings with him a fresh perspective on the dental market.

"After two weeks in the job, I'm just beginning to scratch the surface and develop an understanding of the dental market in general and specifically, what we as a manufacturer need to do in order to continue to succeed," he said. "While we are the clear market leader in Australia and New Zealand, I can see we've faced some recent challenges. However, fundamentally, Nobel Biocare is the number one brand in innovative dental aesthetic solutions with a wealth of choices for clinicians and laboratories, supported with decades of research showing continued efficacy.

"Locally we have a number of very knowledgeable and dedicated human resources who are a formidable team. Additionally, we have a number of programs in place both at the practitioner and patient level to grow the overall market as well as helping our customers build their individual practices. As a platform to build upon, I couldn't ask for anything better."

Born in Lindfield in Sydney's northern suburbs, Mr Covey grew up playing soccer and cricket. He completed his Bachelors degree in Optometry with first class honours from UNSW in 1990 and spent his first few years in private practice. In 1993, he spent several months on staff at a hospital in Tanzania delivering third world eye care and in 1994, worked for a visiting Professor in a specialist practice in Sydney. From 1995 to 1997, he was a senior research optometrist at UNSW where he worked on commercialising scientific research in the area of contact lenses. He completed his Masters in 1998 and then went to work for contact lens manufacturer, CooperVision, as head of European Clinical Affairs, based in the UK. From 2001 to 2003, he worked as director of marketing for the company in the US, before returning to Australia in mid-2003 as general manager of CooperVision Australia/New Zealand. He is married with three young boys.

"As a clinician myself, I do have an understanding of the needs of private practitioners and the dynamics of small businesses in healthcare and I can already see how we, as a large corporation, can do more to support our customers.

"I can see there is a need to firstly ensure we 'connect' and not only supply the best solutions, but also ensure that our educational methodologies are representative of the needs of the market and that the wealth of supporting research that is constantly evolving is regularly communicated.

"Coming into the festive season, I am trying to meet as many of our customers as possible and hear their feedback on how we can provide better service for the future. 2007 will see a renewed focus on building relationships with our customers and investing in our collaborative success."