WETZLAR, GERMANY — Markus Lusser is the new president and director of Leica Microsystems, headquartered in Wetzlar, Germany. He succeeds Andries Peter Jan van den Broek, who has left the company.

Before joining Leica Microsystems, Markus Lusser was vice president global sales and customer support with Sciex. Sciex produces analysis instruments and, like Leica Microsystems, belongs to the U.S. company, Danaher Corporation. Lusser holds an electrical engineering degree in telecommunications and electronics from the College of Electrical Engineering in Innsbruck, Austria. His professional career includes a 20-year tenure at Siemens Healthcare, most recently as vice president global sales and marketing for Siemens' molecular imaging business.

In his new role with Leica Microsystems, Lusser assumes leadership over a major worldwide developer and manufacturer of microscopes and scientific analysis instruments. The company offers innovative, application-oriented solutions for the inspection and evaluation of micro- and nano-structures in a wide range of markets. Products such as the new Leica DVM6 digital microscope help users improve efficiency when performing quality control in the industrial field, while high-end surgical microscopes offer neurosurgeons outstanding functionality and ergonomics. In life science research, the most recent innovation, the Leica TCS SP8 DLS, unites the world of confocal and light sheet microscopy to reveal development processes in living organisms.

"We are pleased that Markus Lusser has taken on this challenge within the Danaher group," says Dan Daniel, executive vice president, Danaher Corporation. "He and his team will focus on Leica Microsystems' further growth. I am convinced that also in the future Leica Microsystems' customers will benefit from innovative products and solutions."

"I'm delighted with my new assignment at Leica Microsystems," says Markus Lusser. "This company has set standards within Danaher. Over the past few weeks I have experienced the innovative strength of Leica Microsystems. And I have seen the passion with which our team fulfills customer requirements in industry, medicine, and research, collaborating with them to develop solutions. I am looking forward to being part of the successful future of the company."