It is with a heavy heart that we announce the passing of Dane A. Miller, Ph.D., founder and CEO of Biomet, Inc. He was 69 years old. Dane cofounded Biomet in 1977 and is one of this industry’s founding fathers.
“The Biomet family is profoundly saddened by the passing of Dane A. Miller, Ph.D., ” said a company statement on February 10, 2015. Dane, as he preferred to be called, was one of Biomet’s four founders and CEO from 1977 to 2006.
“It is impossible in one short statement to give justice to his impact on our company, on our industry, and on the communities where we operate—especially Warsaw and Winona Lake, Indiana. It is also impossible to describe adequately Dane’s impact on the lives of our Team Members and on the members of the orthopaedic community with whom he worked and developed friendships over many years, ” said current Biomet CEO Jeff Binder.
Binder said that Dane used his biomedical engineering background to drive advancements in biomaterials and implant design that helped patients around the world.
On the cultural side, Binder said, “Dane thought of himself as an ‘environmental engineer, ‘ and he fostered an ownership culture where team members were empowered to make decisions, take reasonable risks and actively respond to the needs of our customers and their patients. Dane was one of industry’s first leaders to use the phrase ‘team member’ to describe his company’s employees. He once told me that the best description of Biomet’s culture was that of a ‘can-do family.’”
“Dane is in the DNA of Biomet and Biomet is in his, ” wrote OTW Publisher Robin Young in 2006 when Miller abruptly resigned as Biomet’s CEO.
As we previously wrote, “Where Dane ended and Biomet began has always been hard to see. Customers who needed to call him could reach Dane Miller at home. Dane was, perhaps, the only major orthopedic company CEO who handed out his home and cell phone numbers to customers. And for anyone else, he listed the number in the Warsaw, Indiana, phone book. He also, famously, answered his own phone in the office.”
He ate in the Biomet cafeteria where he stood in line, getting a tray and sitting with a new group of employees every week. On business trips, Dane visited hospitals, scrubbed up, put on the surgical gown and watched surgeries. With a doctorate in biomedical engineering, Dane was at home with surgeons, his employees, his products, and his company.
And he was the fellow who has mentored hundreds of senior marketing and manufacturing managers in the nuts, bolts, screws and stems of this industry.
Zimmer Holdings, Inc. President and CEO Dave Dvorak told OTW, “On behalf of the entire Zimmer team, we are deeply saddened by the loss of Dane Miller. Dane was a well-respected leader in our industry and in our community. I considered him a friend, as did so many who have had the opportunity to get to know him over the years.”
“Dane will be greatly missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with our Biomet colleagues, and Dane’s family, during this difficult time.”
No information of a memorial service was provided.
The orthopedic community’s memorial service for Dane Miller is being streamed live online from the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center on the campus of Grace College & Theological Seminary in Winona Lake, Indiana on Friday, February 20 at 1:00 p.m (eastern time zone). To view the service, please click here.
