Management Board

Biography

Arnd Kaldowski (born 1967, German citizen) joined the Sonova Group in October 2017 as Chief Operating Officer and became CEO as of April 1, 2018. He joined Sonova from Danaher Corporation, where he served in various leadership capacities since 2008, as Group Executive of the Diagnostics Platform and President Beckman Coulter Diagnostics from 2013 until 2017. Arnd Kaldowski led significant sales growth, innovation and productivity initiatives. He also brings significant experience and a successful track record in M&A, commercial excellence and new product introduction, which he gained during his career at Danaher and as SVP Point-of-Care Solutions at Siemens Medical, following his previous assignments as Investment Director of Atila Ventures and as a Manager with the Boston Consulting Group.

Arnd Kaldowski holds a Master of Science in Physics from the Technical University Darmstadt, Germany, and an MBA from INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France.

Outside Mandates

Listed companies:

• n.a.

Other mandates:

• President of European Hearing Instrument Manufactures Association (EHIMA) (mandate held at the direction of Sonova as part of his role as its CEO and thus, shall not be considered as an additional outside mandate)

Holdings as per 31.3.2024

• Shares¹⁾: 20,515
• Performance Share Units: 11,152
• Options: 227,399

Biography 

Birgit Conix (born 1965, Belgian citizen) joined the Sonova Group in Mai 2021 and assumed the CFO position mid-June of the same year. 

She was previously Chief Financial Officer and member of the Executive Board of TUI AG, a global leader in tourism, from 2018 to 2021. Before joining TUI AG, she was Chief Financial Officer of the Belgian media, cable and telecommunications group Telenet Group NV from 2013 until 2018. Prior to that, she held various top-level positions in finance, strategy and business operations in the pharmaceuticals and medical devices business units at Johnson&Johnson, and in finance at Heineken, Tenneco and Reed Elsevier. 

Birgit Conix holds an MBA from the Booth School of Business, University of Chicago, USA and a Master of Science in Business Economics from the University of Tilburg, Netherlands.

Outside mandates

Listed companies:

• Member of the Supervisory Board of ASML Holding N.V.

Other mandates:

• n.a.

Holdings as per 31.3.2024

• Shares¹⁾: 195
• Performance Share Units: 2,388
• Options: 9,873

Biography

Ludger Althoff (born 1964, German citizen) joined the Sonova Group in January 2019 as Vice President (VP) Operations and became Group Vice President Operations as of April 1, 2019. 

Before joining Sonova, he was Senior VP Quality and Operations at ABB Power Grids from 2016 until 2018 where he held functional responsibility for all factories and engineering centers of the business. Before that, he held various key operation leadership positions within the Danaher Corporation from 2001 until 2016, including the role of VP Global Operations of Danaher’s Dental Group and the role of VP Global Operations of Leica Microsystems. Ludger Althoff brings with him over 25 years of international management experience in operations, global sourcing and logistics as well as continuous improvement.

Ludger Althoff completed his education at the City of Mönchengladbach Technical School and was certified Quality Manager (EOQ) by the European Organization for Quality.

Outside mandates

Listed companies:

• n.a.

Other mandates:

• Member of the Advisory Board of QuestW

Holdings as per 31.03.2024

• Shares¹⁾: 2,156
• Performance Share Units: 3,482
• Options: 26,048

Biography

Victoria E. Carr-Brendel (born 1964, US citizen) was appointed Group Vice President Cochlear Implants and President of Advanced Bionics as of April 1, 2019. 

She is an accomplished medical device executive with vast experience across several therapeutic areas, in both 510K and PMA devices. She started her career as a scientist in research and development, and took on increasingly larger business and management roles throughout her career. Before joining Sonova, she worked for JenaValve Technology Inc., a global and innovative transcatheter heart valve company, where she became CEO in mid-2015. Prior to that, she worked at Boston Scientific from 2004 until 2015 in roles spanning R&D, project management, franchise general manager/general manager for the neurovascular, electrophysiology, and peripheral interventions divisions, and the Bayer acquisition.

Victoria E. Carr-Brendel holds a Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology from University of Illinois at Chicago.

As further described in the shareholder letter, Alistair Simpson will succeed Victoria E. Carr-Brendel as Group Vice President Cochlear Implants as of July 2024.

Outside mandates

Listed companies:

• Member of the Board of Directors of Vicarious Surgical Inc. 

Other mandates:

• Member of the Medical Device Manufacturers Association (MDMA)

Holdings as per 31.03.2024

• Shares¹⁾: 1,057
• Performance Share Units: 2,394
• Options²⁾: 20,837

Biography

Christophe Fond (born 1966, French citizen) joined the Sonova Group in February 2017 as Group Vice President Audiological Care.

Before joining Sonova, he held the role of President Latin America and was a member of the Executive Board at GrandVision, a global leader in optical retailing from 2008 until 2016. In the course of his career he gained extensive experience in global retail management, leading transformational growth of large-scale retail enterprises, including acquisitions, mergers, and integrations.

Prior to joining GrandVision he held various roles of international responsibility at Pearle, Bata, and FNAC.

Christophe Fond received a Master of Business Administration from IMD-Switzerland and graduated from the Superior School of Military Engineering (ESAG) in France.

As further described in the shareholder letter, Oliver Lux will succeed Christophe Fond as Group Vice President Audiological Care as of June 2024.

Outside mandates

Listed companies:

• n.a.

Other mandates:

• n.a.

Holdings as per 31.03.2024

• Shares¹⁾: 2,100
• Performance Share Units: 2,975
• Options: 33,476

Biography

Martin Grieder (born 1965, Swiss and British citizen) joined Sonova as Group Vice President Phonak in August 2014. Between September 2016 and March 2022, he was Group Vice President Hearing Instruments Marketing. In April 2022, he was appointed Group Vice President Consumer Hearing. 

He joined Sonova from Nestlé, where he was Vice President and Global Head of Nestlé BabyNes from 2009 until 2014. Martin Grieder joined Nestlé in 1992 and brings over 20 years of experience in senior management roles within the company. His diversified crossfunctional work experience in 18 countries ranges from leading the global Nespresso professional division to managing Nestlé Nespresso North America. Further senior roles at Nestlé included Vice President, Head of Finance for the Americas and Head Nestlé Group Audit as well as R&D Head for Food & Beverage systems solutions for the Nestlé Group.

Martin Grieder received a Master of Business Administration degree from IMD-Switzerland and a Bachelor’s degree in business and economics from the University of Applied Sciences and Arts (FHNW) in Basel.

As further described in the shareholder letter, Lilika Beck will succeed Martin Grieder as Group Vice President Consumer Hearing, after he passed away in a tragic accident at the beginning of April 2024.

Outside mandates

Listed companies:

• n.a.

Other mandates:

• n.a.

Holdings as per 31.03.2024

• Shares¹⁾: 1,418
• Performance Share Units: 3,916
• Options: 42,631

Biography

Katya Kruglova (born 1971, UK citizen) joined the Sonova Group in March 2023 and was appointed Group Vice President Human Resources & Communications in May 2023. 

Katya is a seasoned HR leader with more than 25 years of global experience in large-scale organizations and various industries, including medical devices, life sciences and financial services. She joined Sonova from GE Healthcare, a global medical technology company, where she led a global HR team located in more than 30 countries as VP Human Resources. She also played a key role in the spin-off of GE Healthcare into a publicly listed company. Prior to that, Katya held HR positions with growing responsibilities in various General Electric entities, including GE Healthcare Life Sciences and GE Capital.

Katya has a Master’s degree in English/Spanish Linguistics and Psychology from the State Linguistic University in Moscow, Russia. 

Outside mandates

Listed companies:

• n.a.

Other mandates:

• n.a.

Holdings as per 31.03.2024

• Shares¹⁾: 88
• Performance Share Units: 1,822
• Options: 7,641

Biography

Robert (Rob) Woolley (born 1976, US citizen) joined the Sonova Group in January 2022 and was appointed Group Vice President Hearing Instruments in April 2022. 

He previously has held the position of Executive Vice President for North America from September 2019 until December 2020 and became the Executive Vice President Western Europe in January 2021 at Straumann Group, a global leader in esthetic dentistry. Prior to Straumann, Robert Woolley worked for Stryker as the Global Vice President and General Manager of Stryker ENT. He has longstanding experience in leadership roles in the medical device and healthcare sector, both in the USA and Switzerland, among others at Stryker, Trivascular and Medtronic. Rob comes with a broad range of functional experiences including roles with increasing responsibility in general management, sales and marketing, product portfolio management and business development. 

Robert Woolley is an engineer by training with a BSc in Mechanical Engineering from Brigham Young University and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School. 

Outside mandates

Listed companies:

• n.a.

Other mandates:

• n.a.

Holdings as per 31.03.2024

• Performance Share Units: 2,392
• Restricted Share Units: 1,013
• Options: 15,989