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

Alistair Simpson (born 1969, UK citizen) was appointed Group Vice President Cochlear Implants in July, 2024. He is an experienced business executive with an excellent track record in managing full P&Ls as a General Manager, including leading marketing, sales, and R&D functions. He brings longstanding expertise in operational excellence and highly regulated medical devices, including successful commercialization of multiple new products in a variety of therapeutic areas. 

Alistair is well-versed in interacting and building relationships with key physician contacts, and looks back to more than 10 years of experience in operating as well as building business systems. Thus, he successfully combines customer-centricity with being a process-driven business leader. Additionally, he has multi-region professional experience, and has held various senior leadership positions in companies including Johnson & Johnson, Danaher and LivaNova. 

He holds an MBA from the Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business at the University of Pittsburgh and a Bachelor of Science in Geography from the University of Glasgow. 

Outside mandates

Listed companies:

• n. a.

Other mandates:

• n. a.

Biography

Oliver Lux (born 1976, Austrian citizen) joined Sonova Group in 2010 and held various general management roles in Audiological Care (AC), before being appointed as Group Vice President Audiological Care in June 2024.

During Oliver’s longstanding experience in Audiological Care, he has held managing director roles in various markets, including Austria, Hungary, the US, and most recently Managing Director of Germany. He also held global corporate roles, such as VP of Strategy & Transformation and Commercial Excellence in AC. He has helped to strategically expand the global presence of the AC business and was in charge of business development and M&A to expand sales structures and integrate new stores. He was involved in the launch of "World of Hearing" at a global scale and was also responsible for new markets (e.g. Brazil, China and Japan).

Before joining Sonova, Oliver was a Principal at Arthur D. Little focusing on consulting Strategy and M&A mandates in Central Europe East (CEE) and the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) regions.

Oliver holds a Master’s degree in Economics and Trade from the Vienna University of Economics & Business in Austria and has an Executive Diploma in Financial Strategy from Oxford University, Saïd Business School, in Great Britain.

Outside mandates

Listed companies:

• n. a.

Other mandates:

• n. a.

Biography

Lilika Beck (born 1979, Australian citizen) has held several leadership roles within Hearing Instruments and Audiological Care, before being appointed Group Vice President Consumer Hearing in June 2024. 

Lilika’s experience in Hearing Instruments includes the leadership of the Unitron brand as VP Global Marketing and as Unitron Country Director Australia. Between 2019 and 2024, she was Managing Director of Connect Hearing Canada in our Audiological Care business. Under her leadership, Connect Hearing grew into a market leading brand, with high client satisfaction and employee engagement scores. Lilika has a strong track record in delivering impactful product launches, she has rapidly expanded the clinic network through M&A and deployed a company-owned subscription model for hearing aids. 

Lilika holds a Master’s degree in International Business from Macquarie University, Australia.

Outside mandates

Listed companies:

•             n. a.

Other mandates:

•             Member of the Board of the Royal British Columbia Museum Foundation (voluntary)

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