The Administrative Director is responsible for all business and administrative operations at Berlin Institute of Health. He is also in charge of the institute’s budget and, together with other Board members, responsible for management of the institute. The Administrative Director is appointed by the BIH’s Supervisory Board for an initial period of five years.
"Berlin Institute of Health has gained an experienced research manager in Rolf Zettl, who will ensure that an important interface between medical research and development is created at the institute," says Dr. Georg Schütte, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and Chairman of the Founding Supervisory Board of BIH. Zettl, who holds a PhD in biology, has occupied various senior management positions over the past 20 years, including at the Max Planck Society, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, and the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres. He also has years of experience as a biotech entrepreneur.
"With its two new Board members, Erwin Böttinger and Rolf Zettl, Berlin Institute of Health is in an excellent position to continue its successful expansion as an innovative research institute in Berlin," says Sandra Scheeres, Senator for Science in the State of Berlin. One of Zettl’s key tasks in the coming years will be to dynamize BIH’s innovative capacity, particularly in the areas of technology transfer and the commercialization of research findings. Erwin Böttinger, Chairman of the Board of Directors at BIH, explains: "Especially for an institute that has given itself the task of rapidly transferring research findings into medical applications, it is crucial to have on board an entrepreneurial individual who is well connected with business and venture capital. The entire Board of Directors was delighted to learn that the Supervisory Board had been able to secure Dr. Rolf Zettl for the Berlin Institute of Health, and we look forward to working with him."
Zettl has already set himself the goal of driving BIH forward, particularly with regard to translating new findings into medical applications: "BIH is one of the most ambitious projects in the field of life sciences, on both the national and international levels. In order to make a sustainable contribution for the good of society, it will be particularly important to push forward projects to enable innovations, for example in medicine and medical devices, to be brought to market more quickly."