“We are delighted to welcome Betsy and Leslie to Dentsply Sirona’s Board of Directors,” said Eric. K. Brandt, non-executive chairman of the board, “Both individuals are internationally recognized business leaders, incredibly talented and bring a broad set of skills to Dentsply Sirona. We are fortunate to add such high calibre people to help us achieve our potential as the market leader in dental products and technologies.”
Betsy D. Holden commented, “I am excited to join Dentsply Sirona, the innovator in the dental industry and do my part in collaboration with management and the board to help the company achieve its mission of empowering dental professionals to deliver better, safer, faster dental care.”
Leslie F. Varon added, “Dentsply Sirona is the global market leader in the dental industry with significant growth opportunities. I am eager to partner with my fellow board members, the management team and employees to improve oral health worldwide and create long-term shareholder value.”
Betsy D. Holden is a senior advisor to McKinsey & Company, working with clients across industries on strategy, marketing, innovation, and board effectiveness initiatives. Betsy was formerly Co-CEO of Kraft Foods and CEO of Kraft Foods North America. At the time, Kraft Foods was the largest food company in North America and the second largest in the world.
In addition to her CEO role at Kraft, Betsy also held the positions of president, global marketing and category development; executive vice president with responsibility for operations, IT, procurement, R&D, and consumer insights and communications; president of the Kraft cheese division; president of the pizza division; plus multiple line brand management assignments. Betsy introduced new products that generated over $2 billion in revenue and under her leadership Kraft received numerous marketing, new product, and ‘best places to work’ accolades.
Betsy serves on the Board of Diageo PLC, Time Inc. and The Western Union Company. Previously, she also served on the Boards of Catamaran Corp., Tribune Co., Kraft Foods and Tupperware Brands. Betsy graduated Summa Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa with a BA from Duke University and received a Masters of management in marketing and finance from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. She was named to Fortune’s Most Powerful Women’s list multiple times.
Leslie F. Varon has an extensive record of financial and business leadership in corporate financial management and investor relations. She has significant experience driving business transformation over 30 years at Xerox Corporation, including complex turnarounds, mergers and acquisitions, crisis management and the spinoff of a major business unit. During her career with Xerox, Leslie has served in a variety of senior roles including as the company’s chief financial officer, corporate controller, vice president of finance for North America and head of investor relations and was responsible for all finance, treasury, investor relations, risk management, mergers and acquisitions, tax, audit, procurement and real estate operations at Xerox.
Leslie serves on the Board of Hamilton Lane Incorporated and also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Binghamton University and a Master's degree in business administration with concentrations in finance and marketing from Virginia Polytechnic Institute.