Beat Spalinger to join Straumann as new CFO

Basel, 19 June 2008: Straumann, a global leader in implant and restorative dentistry and oral tissue regeneration, today announced the appointment of Beat Spalinger as the Group’s new Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President, Finance & Operations with effect of 1 September 2008.

Previously, Mr Spalinger was CFO of Unique (Flughafen Zürich AG), the operating company of Zurich International Airport, one of Europe’s leading air-traffic hubs. Staffed by 1500 employees, Unique achieved a turnover of CHF 800 million in 2007.

At 50, Beat Spalinger is a seasoned executive with a strong track record in finance, management and administration. In the course of his nine-year tenure at Unique, he oversaw the Accounting, Controlling, Treasury, Airport Charges and Legal Departments as well as Risk Management and Corporate Supply Management. He was Managing Director for all international projects, including the financing and construction of new airports in Asia and Latin America. He also had a major role in the merger that led to the formation of Unique, and was subsequently responsible for successfully refinancing it in the aftermath of the Swissair grounding.

From 1986 to 1999, Mr Spalinger worked for KPMG Zurich, a leading provider of audit, tax and advisory services in Switzerland. In 1993, he became a Partner and directed the Corporate Finance Department, where his responsibilities included Mergers & Acquisitions, Corporate Recovery, Structured Finance and Valuation.

Beat Spalinger is Swiss, holds a Masters in Economics and Business Administration from HWV (Hochschule für Technik, Wirtschaft und Verwaltung) in Zürich, and is an alumni of the Advanced Management Program at Harvard University, Boston, USA. He will join Straumann on 1 August and will take over from Marco Gadola, who is leaving Straumann at the end of August.

Concerning forward looking statements
This release contains certain “forward-looking statements”, which can be identified by the use of terminology such as “to join”, “with effect”, “will join”, “will” or similar wording. Such forward-looking statements reflect the current views of management and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements of the Group to differ materially from those expressed or implied. These include risks related to the success of and demand for the Group’s products, the potential for the Group’s products to become obsolete, the Group’s ability to defend its intellectual property, the Group’s ability to develop and commercialize new products in a timely manner, the dynamic and competitive environment in which the Group operates, the regulatory environment, changes in currency exchange rates, the Group’s ability to generate revenues and profitability, the Group’s ability to realize its expansion projects in a timely manner and the Group’s ability to recruit and retain key employees. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in this report. Straumann is providing the information in this release as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in it as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.