External member – chairmanHanns-Peter Knaebel

Prof. Knaebel was born in Stuttgart in 1968 and studied medicine in Ulm, Tübingen and Yale University in New Haven, USA. After completing his degree and obtaining his doctorate in 1995 he joined the department of surgery of Heidelberg University Hospital in the same year, where he worked for 12 years, the last five years as senior physician, and obtained his habilitation in 2006. In the context of his clinical scientific activity he intensively addressed the topic of clinical studies in surgery and from 2001 played a major role in setting up both the clinical study centre for surgery (KSC) at the Heidelberg University department of surgery and the study centre of the German surgical society (SDGC).

As early as the late 1990s, Professor Knaebel was interested in issues outside curative medicine and worked on quality assurance and quality management at the department of surgery. Between 2004 and 2006 he studied for a Master of Business Administration (MBA) at the University of Salzburg, graduating in June 2006 with distinction.

From 2007 to April 2017 Professor Knaebel was employed at B. Braun Melsungen AG where he took charge of the department of clinical science and so became a member of the sectoral management. Invited to join the management of Aesculap AG & Co. KG in March 2008, Professor Knaebel was appointed to the executive board of Aesculap AG on 6 May 2008. From April 2009 to April 2017 he was CEO of Aesculap AG while representing the Aesculap sector as a member of the executive board of B. Braun Melsungen AG. In October 2017, Professor Knaebel joined the Röchling Group first as Vice Chairman of the executive board, and from January 2018 until September 2021 as Chaiman of the executive board and CEO Medical.

Beside his entrepreneurial activity, Professor Knaebel still keeps up his research, publications and teaching in the field of surgery, so that Heidelberg University appointed him an associate professor in 2010.

He has been a member of the Heidelberg University Council since 2012 and has chaired it since 2015.