Long-standing Danaher executive Markus Lusser becomes new president of Abcam
Abcam announced today (March 18) that Markus Lusser has been appointed president of the research tools company as it transitions into the Danaher Life Sciences portfolio.
Danaher Corporation completed its acquisition of Abcam plc in December 2023. As a result, Abcam became an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Danaher.
Mr Lusser took up his post as president of Abcam on February 26. He replaces Alan Hirzel, the outgoing president and CEO of the company which is based at the Biomedical Campus on Discovery Drive.
Alan Hirzel, who guided the life science tools company - valued at $5.52bn - through the acquisition process following the acceptance of Danaher’s $24.00 per share in cash offer of August 2023, had become ‘president and CEO of Abcam, a Danaher company’ in December, having been CEO since 2014. He left on February 23, 2024, and no longer holds any posts at Abcam.
In a LinkedIn post he wrote: “It has been my privilege to work with the best people to shape and develop Abcam into the company it is today. I’m proud of everyone who made this possible with me over the last decade. I leave the business in great health for the new owners at Danaher to add their skills and talents to this new chapter. I shall be rooting for their success.”
A seasoned Danaher executive, Markus has extensive commercial and digital experience across the life sciences and medical device industries.
He holds a degree in Engineering in Electronics from HTBLA in Innsbruck, Austria. He spent 20 years at Siemens Healthineers. Prior to joining Danaher in 2011, he was president of Leica Microsystems (LMS) where he successfully drove innovation, commercial execution, and associate engagement to deliver accelerated organic growth, enhanced profitability and cash flow. He led LMS’s successful digital transformation efforts, including innovations such as ARveo, the world’s first surgical imaging platform offering augmented reality (AR) for brain surgery.
He most recently served as Danaher’s VP and chief customer officer for the Life Sciences Innovations Group, helping shape and execute Danaher’s cross-OpCo strategy to drive disproportionate growth and share gain in the biologics market segment.
Commenting on the appointment, Markus said: “I am excited to join Abcam and work alongside such talented and diverse teams to solve complex challenges and help our customers progress faster, together.
“As president of Abcam, my mission is to continue to build a culture that puts the customer at the heart of everything we do, anchored in the quality of our products, close collaboration with our partners, and a focus on innovation within the industry.”
Headquartered in Cambridge since 1998, Abcam has a substantial global footprint which includes nine sites, operating in more than130 countries. It has more than 1,750 associates and serves 750,000 researchers worldwide.
