Biomet founder, Dane Miller, Ph.D., was named the August M. Watanabe Life Sciences Champion of the Year at this year’s seventh annual Indiana Life Sciences Summit in Indianapolis.
D. Craig Brater, M.D., Dean of the Indiana University School of Medicine and Chairman of the Board of BioCrossroads, said, “The success of Biomet through Dane’s early vision and leadership has raised Indiana’s national visibility as a center for the life sciences, and Warsaw as the world capital of the orthopedic industry.”
“In addition, because Warsaw is the hotbed of the orthopedics world, many supportive companies have been built around the area, employing thousands of people. Dane is one of the primary catalysts for the surge in Kosciusko and surrounding counties’ businesses and growth, and to keeping Indiana’s economy strong because of his influence in the medical device industry.”
Specific achievements noted in Miller’s career include:
- In only 25 years, the company went from $17, 000 of revenue to nearly $2.0 billion, sold products in more than 100 countries and hired more than 6, 300 “team members”. Even though Miller is not from Indiana, rather than moving the company outside of the state, he decided to stay in Warsaw, and consistently expanded Biomet’s facilities and employee headcount when he was CEO.
- He was named Indiana Small Business Person of the Year in 1984.
- In 1991, President George H.W. Bush awarded him with the Small Business Association National Entrepreneurial Success award.
- In 2005, Governor Mitch Daniels named Miller to the inaugural board of directors of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation.
- Even though his company was making over a billion dollars and CEOs at other billion dollar companies were taking home million dollar salaries, Miller kept his salary relatively low. In fact, he was recognized by Forbes magazine as representing one of the best “values” for shareholders among CEOs in the country.
- Miller’s philanthropic commitment has made a unique impact on the Kosciusko County landscape. In 2003, Miller received the Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana award for restoration of Warsaw’s neighboring community Winona Lake; in 2010, Miller led the initiative to move the national headquarters of the Remnant Trust to Kosciusko County.
Miller and several other founders started Biomet 30 years ago in Warsaw, Indiana. The award announcement stated, “The founders wanted to build a company committed to providing innovative solutions for the needs of the orthopedic industry. The company hit $1.1 million in sales after only two years in business, rapidly establishing an enterprise that, along with neighboring orthopedics giants Zimmer, Inc., and DePuy Orthopaedics, made Warsaw home to three of the world’s five largest orthopedics device companies.”
Miller continues to be involved with the company after his sudden resignation as CEO in 2006. Shortly after that resignation, he led a successful effort to take the company private with the assistance of Wall Street private equity bankers.
