LightForce Orthodontics welcomes new chief operating officer, Kelly Cunning Riedel

The new COO of LightForce Orthodontics — Kelly Cunning Riedel — brings her strategic thinking, bold vision, and results-focused approach to LightForce. A lawyer by training and background, Riedel previously led a more than 650 person team at Amazon Robotics, most recently serving as Director of Operations and Supply Chain. Before that, she built and managed the legal team for Amazon Robotics. The LightForce team is excited to be led by Reidel, who brings her high level of expertise and breadth of experience from one of the top companies in the world. She has previously held the position of Senior Corporate Counsel at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company and an intellectual property transactions position at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP in Boston. Riedel’s dedication to customers and exceptional leadership skills are perfectly aligned with the LightForce corporate philosophy to put their customers and patients first and to never stop improving.

Dr. Alfred Griffin III, cofounder and CEO of LightForce Orthodontics said, “Kelly Riedel will make a powerful addition to the LightForce executive team. This is the embodiment of the right leader arriving at the right time — Kelly’s extensive operations experience in automation, scaling new business units, and her legal background will help LightForce serve the orthodontic industry for years to come.” He adds, “Feedback on Kelly from peers, senior execs, direct reports, and customers she worked with at Amazon consistently raved about her as a strategic thinker, talented collaborator, and respected leader. Most importantly, I know she is someone who will always go to bat for our patients and doctors.”

The company’s earnest commitment to serving orthodontists and their patients and improving orthodontic treatment efficiency impressed Riedel. She says, “As soon as I met Alfred and his team, I just knew they were up to something special. He is super smart, unwaveringly driven, and he knows his industry deeply. His dad is an orthodontist, so he grew up thinking about this space — it’s in his DNA. His care is genuine, not commercially incentivized.”

Riedel is enthusiastic about helping to build LightForce’s scope and reputation in the years ahead. She says, “I am joining LightForce at the right time in my career. At this company, quality, safety, and speed matter. And the people here are inspiring.” Her work philosophy, inspired by her time at Amazon, is “to be strategically patient and tactically impatient.” She says, “I strive to bring teams together, inspire them to action, while keeping the vision of the company and the customer always front of mind. We will continue to establish goals, drive towards them, and meet them on behalf of our ortho customers and their patients.”

LightForce Orthodontics customized braces are created with 3D-printing technologies that result in the only 100% custom braces system, providing complete personalization in 3D-bracket technology. LightForce technology’s FDA-approved bracket is fully customized from the slot to the base. The brackets are 3D printed to fit in a specific position on a specific tooth — exactly as they were digitally planned. The 3D-printed slots are more accurate and precise than injection-molded slots. The most recent addition to LightForce’s product portfolio is the Light Bracket, a translucent, more esthetic option that blends in with the color of the teeth. The Light Bracket offers all of the features and benefits of LightForce’s flagship white bracket — the Cloud Bracket.  In addition, “intelligent” indirect bonding trays are designed and 3D printed for each unique clinical situation, providing superior placement accuracy, efficiency, and convenience.

Riedel believes in the value of individualization provided by 3D-custom printing.  She says, “Our mission is to empower orthodontists with the best of Industry 4.0 to give patients a bite and smile that is as unique as they are. I’m inspired by this because it’s good for patients — they have less time in the chair, and that time can be returned to all the other things patients love to do. With lower overall treatment time, they can have their braces-free smile by whatever big event is up next for them. It’s also good for orthodontists — in addition to booking fewer and shorter visits, they can delegate more efficiently to their office staff, which gives them time to do all the other things pulling at their attention. Plus, using our digital-planning software, they can treat their patients with the end result in mind, achieving predictably healthy bites and delightful smiles.”

With a focus on operations, Riedel plans to spend time on the production floor, getting to know both the U.S. and international teams. She says, “I want a sense of what they are passionate about, what problems they are facing, and what they are doing to find solutions on behalf of our customers.” She wants to encourage the positive and responsive atmosphere. “We believe in listening to our employees and actively fostering a workplace that allows people to be themselves, do their best work, and thrive. This is a culture I’m excited to be a part of, and will continue to amplify. It’s an incredible group with a powerful mission on an exciting trajectory. There is still so much more for us to do.”

Members of the LightForce team are chosen for their specific skills at every level of the company. Riedel says, “This is a super creative group. At every level of our corporation, from engineers to operations and beyond, there is a sense of collaboration, teamwork, celebration of successes, and striving to delight our customers. The newest to the most tenured employees know our customers’ names, care about their problems and needs, and are encouraging to each other. This is what I want for this next stage of my career — to spend my days in an environment that is this customer-focused, fast-moving, innovative, and supportive.”

The wall outside of Riedel’s office is emblazoned with the principles behind LightForce. It says, “What is the future of orthodontics? We believe that the future is what happens when medicine, art, and technology converge. The patient is at the center of every decision, so the standard is raised to personalized care. The instrument becomes as sophisticated as the specialty, so that technology is in the hands of the experts. A community of trailblazers, doctors, designers and engineers, united to materialize the vision. We are LightForce.  And together, the future is ours to create.” Riedel says reading that sentiment validated her decision to join the team even more. She says, “That is not just marketing. These words are in the heart of the people here. Pinch me! What could be better than that?”