The AO Trustees Meeting 2025
The AO Trustees Meeting 2025 was held in Cartagena, Colombia, from June 26 to 28. Mark D Markel was elected as the new president of the AO Foundation, his two-year term commencing immediately after the Trustees Meeting.
The meeting kicked off on June 26 with a warm welcome from AO President Tim Pohlemann to all the assembled Trustees, speakers, and guests, who gave a brief overview of the meeting's goals. This was followed by a presentation from speaker Ana Catalina Tobón Trujillo, AO CMF Community Development Chair, who spoke very skillfully on the healthcare system in Colombia and the community's involvement. Claudia Vidal, a local historian and journalist, shared fascinating insights into the culture and history of Cartagena.
After a coffee break, the audience listened to Jaime Quintero, AO Foundation Past President, expound knowledgeably on how the AO Latin America (AO LAT) region started. The next speaker, Ricardo José de Holanda Vasconcellos, AO LAT Medical Advisory Committee Chair, continued this focus on the region and gave much detail, supported by multiple short video presentations from various specialty chairs, about the achievements, goals, and challenges of AO LAT. Capitalizing on these speaker insights, a lively panel discussion followed with several specialty chairs on how to evolve the region.
The meeting kicked off on June 26 with a warm welcome from AO President Tim Pohlemann to all the assembled Trustees, speakers, and guests, who gave a brief overview of the meeting's goals. This was followed by a presentation from speaker Ana Catalina Tobón Trujillo, AO CMF Community Development Chair, who spoke very skillfully on the healthcare system in Colombia and the community's involvement. Claudia Vidal, a local historian and journalist, shared fascinating insights into the culture and history of Cartagena.
After a coffee break, the audience listened to Jaime Quintero, AO Foundation Past President, expound knowledgeably on how the AO Latin America (AO LAT) region started. The next speaker, Ricardo José de Holanda Vasconcellos, AO LAT Medical Advisory Committee Chair, continued this focus on the region and gave much detail, supported by multiple short video presentations from various specialty chairs, about the achievements, goals, and challenges of AO LAT. Capitalizing on these speaker insights, a lively panel discussion followed with several specialty chairs on how to evolve the region.
The afternoon was devoted to the Annual General Meeting, with reports from the President, Past President, CEO and AO Foundation Board Vice-Chair, CFO and COO, and Chair of the Ethics and Compliance Committee. The election of Mark D Markel as the new AO President for a term of two years commencing immediately after the Trustees Meeting and the election of Jeffrey Wang as the new AO President-Elect also took place. In addition, several regional Trustee and AO Foundation Board expert elections took place. The election results were warmly received.
The morning sessions on day two were dedicated to in-depth reports from the executive directors of the AO Research Institute Davos (Geoff Richards), AO Education Institute (Tobias Hüttl), and AO Innovation Translation Center (Roland Herzog) on the projects, programs, and initiatives their teams are working on across the AO. This was followed by a partnership update from Aldo Denti, Company Group Chairman, Global Orthopaedics, Johnson & Johnson MedTech (JJMT), who spoke, among other topics, about how orthopedics is evolving, the significance of digital technology and the digital ecosystem as well as how well-positioned JJMT is to address unmet needs in orthopedics with solutions across techniques, technology, and implants. The last morning session was a panel discussion focusing on shaping the AO's future, where Pohlemann and Denti shared the stage with members of the AO Foundation Board. All the panel members were highly engaged, and the discussion was far-ranging, giving rise to some future direction setting for the AO.
The morning sessions on day two were dedicated to in-depth reports from the executive directors of the AO Research Institute Davos (Geoff Richards), AO Education Institute (Tobias Hüttl), and AO Innovation Translation Center (Roland Herzog) on the projects, programs, and initiatives their teams are working on across the AO. This was followed by a partnership update from Aldo Denti, Company Group Chairman, Global Orthopaedics, Johnson & Johnson MedTech (JJMT), who spoke, among other topics, about how orthopedics is evolving, the significance of digital technology and the digital ecosystem as well as how well-positioned JJMT is to address unmet needs in orthopedics with solutions across techniques, technology, and implants. The last morning session was a panel discussion focusing on shaping the AO's future, where Pohlemann and Denti shared the stage with members of the AO Foundation Board. All the panel members were highly engaged, and the discussion was far-ranging, giving rise to some future direction setting for the AO.
The final day of the meeting on June 28 started with a focus on selected AO initiatives and programs: AO Access, AO Alliance, and the Young Surgeons initiative. Expert speakers presented each of these focus topics. Claudia Medina, AO Access Steering Committee Member, gave an impassioned report on AO Access. The AO Alliance Foundation—which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year—and its achievements were presented by Claude Martin, Managing Director of the AO Alliance Foundation, while Nikolaus Renner, Vice Chair of the Board of AO Alliance Directors, presented the AO Alliance Foundation's strategy and future vision.
The final session focused on young surgeons with another very lively panel discussion featuring seven local young residents from across the specialties: Gustavo Matson Sanchez, Leidi Yesenia Morales Ballesteros, Manuel Alberto Melo Alvares, Maria Fernanda Ochoa, Mercedes Salas, Miguel Angel Gomez, and Nicolas Pavajeau. Tim Pohlemann had invited them to participate in the Trustees Meeting, share their reflections on the AO, and give suggestions on how the AO can better engage with younger surgeons. Tim Pohlemann moderated the discussion and elicited actionable takeaways from a highly engaged panel and audience.
To conclude the final day, incoming AO President Mark D Markel gave a glimpse into the future of his presidency, while outgoing AO President Tim Pohlemann gave the last words, closing an excellent AO Trustees Meeting 2025.
The final session focused on young surgeons with another very lively panel discussion featuring seven local young residents from across the specialties: Gustavo Matson Sanchez, Leidi Yesenia Morales Ballesteros, Manuel Alberto Melo Alvares, Maria Fernanda Ochoa, Mercedes Salas, Miguel Angel Gomez, and Nicolas Pavajeau. Tim Pohlemann had invited them to participate in the Trustees Meeting, share their reflections on the AO, and give suggestions on how the AO can better engage with younger surgeons. Tim Pohlemann moderated the discussion and elicited actionable takeaways from a highly engaged panel and audience.
To conclude the final day, incoming AO President Mark D Markel gave a glimpse into the future of his presidency, while outgoing AO President Tim Pohlemann gave the last words, closing an excellent AO Trustees Meeting 2025.
