Looking to the future

As Gregorio “Goyo” Sánchez Aniceto moves into his second term as chair of the AO CMF International Board, he looks back on achievements and challenges to date, discusses leadership during the global COVID-19 pandemic, and outlines his vision for the future of AO CMF.

When Sánchez Aniceto took the reins as AO CMF International Board chair in 2018, he sketched out a vision of consolidating AO CMF as the largest global, multispecialty craniomaxillofacial (CMF) community worldwide; developing AO CMF’s curriculum and fellowship program globally; rejuvenating its governance structures; and analyzing the costs and benefits of AO CMF’s education events around the world. Two years—and an ongoing global pandemic—later, he is proud of what he, the surgeon community, and the AO CMF team have achieved.

AO CMF milestones under Sánchez Aniceto’s leadership include careful alignment of the organization, both across the regions and with the AO’s other clinical divisions; development of online education projects, including the blended management of facial trauma program, and the oral cancer and orthognathic surgery diplomas; and an impressively fast and successful ramp up of online education in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“For example, during the first week of March 2020, we had to suddenly cancel FACE AHEAD—which had been three years in development and was to be our first-ever global summit and AO CMF flagship event—three weeks before the event was to begin,” recalls Sánchez Aniceto, who is head of the department of oral and maxillofacial surgery at 12 de Octubre Hospital in Madrid, Spain
AO CMF responded to COVID-19 by immediately launching its “From the Frontline” series of interactive reports from CMF surgeons on the frontlines of the pandemic.

“We had to confront the situation with creativity and flexibility: We shifted very quickly to online teaching, launching the AO CMF Online Campus in April to compensate for the lack of on-site educational events,” he explains. “In this way, we were able to continue delivering high-quality educational content—and keep the AO CMF flame alive with our members.”

Sánchez Aniceto is proud that AO CMF has continued to improve both its educational offering, its perception, and its talent recruiting and retention.

“We are proactively promoting young researchers to be involved in our network, for instance our Research & Development group has developed a training program for young researchers as ‘junior reviewers,’ who also rate actual projects so that they learn how to judge what is quality research” he says.

Looking to the future, Sánchez Aniceto plans to continue to improving AO CMF’s educational offering with both face-to-face, on-site courses and engaging, high-quality online content.

“This includes our planning for FACE AHEAD 2022, which brings a completely new format to what we have considered a congress to be,” he says. Additionally, AO CMF will underscore its research leadership by updating its models: securing an impact factor for its Craniomaxillofacial Trauma & Reconstruction journal midterm, converting the journal to open access format, and managing major changes in its editorial board.

“Today, AO CMF is the number one CMF community in the world. We want to keep that momentum going across the specialties by retaining both young surgeons and mid-career surgeons, by providing them what they need and being their companion throughout their whole careers,” he adds.

Sánchez Aniceto’s passion for AO CMF is obvious, but it isn’t his only passion. He also is a devoted family man, who enjoys daily menu planning and cooking with his wife, Carmen, and spending time with his three children, Rodrigo, Andres, and Catalina. His two youngest children are quick to assist in the kitchen—and offer instant feedback on the menu items.

“We all love eating, and I have to say, with my family I have a very good public who appreciates my cooking, which is a fusion of Spanish cuisine and foods from other cultures,” he says.

With his various roles, Sánchez Aniceto clearly has a lot on his plate, but he considers every encounter a learning and teaching opportunity.

“You never stop learning!” he says with enthusiasm. “In fact, AO CMF has made it possible for me to become much more involved in professional education and I have—hopefully—become a better teacher not only in AO CMF courses but in my university hospital.”