Dr. Gerd Krick, Chairman of the Fresenius Supervisory Board, celebrates 75th birthday

Dr. Gerd Krick, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Fresenius, will celebrate his 75th birthday on October 8. Before he moved to the Supervisory Board in 2003, Dr. Krick spent almost three decades in top management positions at Fresenius, including 11 years as Chief Executive Officer.

Born in Dresden, Germany in 1938, Dr. Krick earned a doctorate in mechanical engineering in 1969. After working as Managing Director of a medical technology company, he joined the former Dr. E. Fresenius KG in 1975 as Managing Director for research & development, production and technology. This began a very successful period in which Dr. Krick played a leading role in developing the company's first dialyzers and dialysis machines, and helped make dialysis-related activities a core business of Fresenius.

When Fresenius was converted into a stock corporation in 1981, Dr. Krick joined the Management Board of the newly established Fresenius AG, with responsibility for medical devices. In 1991, he was appointed Deputy Chairman of the Management Board. The next year he became CEO, succeeding Dr. Hans Kröner, who along with his wife, Else Kröner, had built Fresenius from a small family business into a major enterprise.

Fresenius grew significantly during Dr. Krick's tenure as CEO. Annual sales increased 10 times to €7.5 billion in 2002, and the number of employees rose nine-fold to more than 63,000. An exceptional entrepreneurial success was the 1996 acquisition of the U.S. dialysis company National Medical Care and its merger with the dialysis business of Fresenius. Today, Fresenius Medical Care is the world market leader in dialysis products and services.

After turning the CEO position over to Ulf Mark Schneider in 2003, Dr. Krick became Chairman of the Supervisory Board. In recognition of his accomplishments, the German business monthly Manager Magazin named Dr. Krick to its Hall of Fame in 2011.

"We are very grateful to Gerd Krick for his unique and outstanding contributions to our company," said Ulf Mark Schneider, CEO of Fresenius. "Under his guidance and leadership, Fresenius developed into a significant global player in the health care industry."