A Year of Change; A Year of Opportunity

2021 was not the year we all wished for. We made significant progress in the fight against COVID-19, but the pandemic continued to strain our healthcare system and ushered in new multidimensional economic issues that added to the crisis.

On top of COVID-19, our economy now faces the triple challenges of supply chain disruptions, labor shortages and rising costs – all powerful forces that are disrupting the marketplace and our daily lives. Still, B. Braun and our fellow industry partners are finding ways to continue supplying life-sustaining products and introduce new technologies and services to support our customers.

And while the pandemic is far from over, I believe the innovative mindset and resiliency of our people that brought us through the first two years of the crisis will empower us to solve these new challenges. In doing so, the entire healthcare industry can emerge stronger and better equipped to face future crises.

Reflecting back on 2021, my mind also goes to the extraordinary efforts of my colleagues at B. Braun. In addition to responding to the pandemic, this was the first full year of executing on our new strategy.

With the goal of improving the value we provide to our customers and patients, we successfully executed many new initiatives. They include introducing new digital technologies and data-driven solutions, partnerships to improve patient care, operational effectiveness improvements to make us more responsive to customer needs, and organizational changes to enhance our customer focus.

We didn’t stop there. Focusing on our journey to build a purpose-driven culture, we trained thousands of colleagues on the principles of servant leadership, initiated programs to foster a more diverse and inclusive workforce – including launching eight new employee resource groups – and renewed our longstanding commitments to innovation and sustainability.?

Most importantly, our new strategy renews and reinforces B. Braun’s vision of protecting and improving the health of people in North America and around the world. That is what binds us together, even with so much change taking place around us.

I want to recognize all of my colleagues at B. Braun Medical Inc., B. Braun Interventional Systems, Aesculap? and Central Admixture Pharmacy Services, Inc. (CAPS?) for everything you are doing to support our transformation and serve the needs of our customers. You are truly making a difference and living up to our heritage of sharing expertise and delivering quality products and services.

I also want to wish Happy Holidays and a peaceful, healthy New Year to our customers, suppliers, partners and other stakeholders across the healthcare system. By working together, we can overcome the challenges we face and make 2022 a year of opportunity. My colleagues and I at B. Braun look forward to partnering with you and being part of the solution.?