9 Consolidating the achievements of the AOVET founders
After the untimely death of Fritz Straumann, the support of the veterinarians in Waldenburg was continued by his son Thomas Straumann and Ortrun Pohler. Soon a management buyout occurred and Ruedi Maag took over the orthopedic section of the Straumann Institute and renamed it Stratec Medical, while Thomas Straumann continued to lead the dental implant section that remained under the name of Straumann Institute. With this, the support Straumanns had given to AOVET and the AOVET Center was lost. When Dieter Prieur retired as executive secretary of AOVET at the end of 1991, the AOVET Center was moved from Waldenburg to the Veterinary Surgery Clinic at the University of Zurich, Fig 57 Monika Gutscher started her new job with AOVET which was directed by Jörg Auer who returned from the US November 1, 1991, and took over in 1989 to take over as Professor of Veterinary Surgery. His as secretary after the AOVET decision to return to his alma mater was also influenced by Center moved from Waldenburg to Zurich. his desire to be more involved with the AO Foundation, a wish that became true shortly after his arrival in Switzerland when he was elected as successor of Dieter Prieur. The leadership of the AO Foundation was happy to see the AOVET Center being strongly supported by the leader of a Swiss university clinic and offered generous financial support, which included the employment of a secretary for AOVET at the executive secretary level. It was understood from the beginning that working at the AOVET Center did not keep the secretary 100 % busy and that she could accept work related to other business deemed appropriate by Professor Auer, while being paid fully by the AO Foundation. This was seen as a win-win situation, by having AOVET affiliated with an academic institution and with that institution profiting from AO Foundation. For the secretary role, Professor Auer knew of a school friend of his wife, who was involved in hotel management and was returning home to Switzerland after opening the Swisshotel in Beijing, China. Monika Gutscher (Fig 57) was looking for a job in Switzerland and when Auer asked her if she would be interested in something new and exciting, she accepted. Gutscher was the right person because of her management and language skills. For her, it was appealing as she did not have to work evenings or weekends, as in the hospitality industry. It was clear that she needed to familiarize herself with the medical terminology. To prepare for her new job, Monika started to work for AOVET on November 1, 1991. She learned quickly and was accepted by everybody. She
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