A sad farewell...Matthias Buerger

I recently received a heartbreaking call regarding the passing of Matthias Bürger from his daughter.

I write this message to you all with the blessing of his family.

Matthias dedicated over 25 years of his life to the medtech industry, for those of you who had the pleasure to know him, I'm sure he would have proudly told you about his involvement during the writing and implementation of the MDD back in the 90s. To say he was a major voice in the QA/RA medtech world is quite simply an understatement and his loss will have a profound effect on the regulatory community.

Maybe you only knew him through industry associations, his centre stage at Regulatory conferences or maybe you've caught some of his insightful posts on Linkedin, typically peppered with humour and references to Star Wars, Game of Thrones, or other pre 2000s sci-fi-type series that were frequently lost on me.

If he was your friend, boss or mentor, I'm sure you've enjoyed some form of Matthias Burger words of wisdom, had some form of deep conversations about the world, and been told more than once not to sweat the small stuff and focus on what really matters.

Earlier this year I had the opportunity to interview Matthias about his career as my first ever guest on Career diaries by Elemed. At the time, I threw out a "big question" about legacy. His response: to be a supportive father to his children that he cared so much about, and to impact people's careers and lives for the better.

Matthias; you achieved that. The outpouring of messages, stories and tributes are testament to your legacy, and it will live on through the people that you impacted. 2020 has been a year of total unpredictability. It has also given us a sense of perspective and highlighted the things that really matter. People matter. Relationships matter. Impact matters. 2 weeks ago you said so much by saying so little, which so powerfully embodies your mark on the world.

Farewell, Matthias, and thank you for the legacy you leave amongst your family, friends, colleagues, regulatory community and the medtech industry. The world is a better place for it.

I hope that this year has provided you all with the opportunity to re-build and re-discover relationships and as we look towards the upcoming holiday period and 2021 let’s all take special time to focus on making precious memories with our loved ones, because time is the one thing that once gone, you can't get back.

I am creating a “book of memories” for the Burger family. If you would like to contribute to his book of memories with your own story - please take a moment to fill out this form.