Dentsply Sirona Appoints John Fortson as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Dentsply Sirona has announced the appointment of John Fortson as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, effective July 20.

Fortson joins the dental products and technology manufacturer with more than 25 years of experience in finance, operations, and corporate strategy across public and private equity-backed organizations. He has served in chief financial officer or chief executive officer roles for global manufacturing and industrial companies for the past 13 years.

Throughout his career, Fortson has led business transformation initiatives, acquisitions and integrations, enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementations, and capital allocation strategies. He most recently served as CFO of Kymera International, a specialty materials company. Prior to that, he held executive leadership positions at Ingevity Corporation, including CFO, Treasurer, President, CEO, and board member.

"We are excited to welcome John to Dentsply Sirona," said Dan Scavilla, President and CEO of Dentsply Sirona. "Following an extensive search, John emerged as the clear choice to serve as our next CFO given his rare combination of public company CFO experience, CEO perspective, capital markets expertise, and a proven track record of driving growth and operational excellence at scale.

“We are confident that John’s collaborative leadership style, strategic mindset, and focus on execution will make him an outstanding partner for our leadership team as we advance our Return-to-Growth Action Plan.”

Fortson said, "I am honored to join Dentsply Sirona at such an important time for the Company. With leading market positions, innovative products, and significant opportunities ahead, I believe Dentsply Sirona is poised for long-term growth. I look forward to partnering with Dan and the leadership team to strengthen performance, drive disciplined execution across the business and deliver long-term growth and value creation for shareholders."

Professional Background

Fortson currently serves as President and CFO of Kymera International, where he has overseen financial and operational initiatives during a period of global expansion. His responsibilities have included integration efforts across manufacturing facilities in multiple countries, consolidation of ERP systems, and programs focused on forecasting, liquidity, working capital management, and operational efficiency.

Before joining Kymera, Fortson spent nearly a decade at Ingevity Corporation, a global specialty chemicals and materials company. During his tenure, he played a key role in the company's separation from WestRock and helped establish the financial, treasury, tax, investor relations, internal audit, and information technology functions required for an independent public company. He later served as President and CEO.

Earlier in his career, Fortson was CFO of AAR Corp., an aviation services company, where he led initiatives related to portfolio restructuring, debt reduction, capital allocation, and operational performance.

Prior to his corporate leadership roles, Fortson spent 15 years in investment banking at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, ultimately serving as Managing Director in the Industrials Group. He also served as an officer in the U.S. Army for seven years.

Fortson holds an MBA from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business and a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Military Academy at West Point.