Connecting to life

Key speakersPhonak and Advanced Bionics Virtual Media Conference December 16, 2020

Victoria E. Carr-Brendel, Ph.D.President, Advanced Bionics Group Vice President of Cochlear Implants, Sonova Group

Vicky Carr-Brendel is an accomplished medical device executive with nearly 20 years of experience successfully growing and managing businesses and improving profitability. As President of Advanced Bionics, and Group Vice President of Cochlear Implants at the Sonova Group, Vicky is responsible for leading the cochlear implant division and representation on the Sonova management board. Working across many therapeutic areas, Vicky is an innovation and growth leader with deep experience in medical device marketing, development, clinical research and business strategy development. Vicky holds a Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology and is a past CEO for JenaValve Technology, Inc. a global and innovative transcatheter heart valve company.

Sandra M. BrandmeierPresident Hearing Instruments Wholesale USA, Sonova Group

Sandy Brandmeier joined Sonova in 2018 from the Wall Family Enterprise, a business serving customers globally in the lifelong learning sector. During her 7 years with the company as a CEO, she transformed the business to consistently over-perform market growth, turned it into a highly-profitable growth engine, and achieved substantial savings that funded new growth opportunities, according to Sonova. From 2009 to 2012, Brandmeier served as President of Leica Microsystems North American Operations, where she oversaw the Life Sciences, Medical and Industry divisions. Prior to that, she spent more than 20 years in the healthcare field, including general management positions at GE Healthcare. She holds an MBA from the University of Wisconsin.

Phonak and Advanced Bionics Virtual Media Conference - December 16, 2020

Chris Bingham is a medical device marketing professional with over 15 years of experience and leads Advanced Bionics’ global marketing team as Vice President of Global Marketing. In his position, Chris is responsible for global product strategy and marketing as well as training for clinicians. In his previous roles, Chris served in marketing roles for Abbott Laboratories’ Neuromodulation business and Medtronic’s Cardiac and Vascular Group. Chris holds an MBA from the Huntsman School of Business and a degree in Biology from Utah State University.

Jason Galster PhDDirector of Clinical Research, Advanced Bionics

Jason Galster, PhD is the Director of Clinical Research at Advanced Bionics where he oversee the clinical investigation of emerging technologies,

team are responsible for the clinical evaluation of Class 3 medical technologies and collaborative research focused on the treatment of hearing loss through cochlear implantation. He is a recognized author and lecturer who maintains several adjunct professorships and teaches internationally. Dr. Galster’s publication record includes books, book chapters, and numerous trade and peer-reviewed articles.

Chris BinghamVice President of Global Marketing, Advanced Bionics

Angela Pelosi Director of Global Audiology, Phonak

Specialized in the clinical fields of pediatrics, adults with complex hearing losses, clinical development and training, Angela is the Director of Global Audiology at Phonak. She is dedicated to ensuring Audiological excellence throughout the organization - from innovation and product development, to validation and scientific studies, to education and training. Over the past 15 years at Sonova, she has led various teams in Audiology, Sales and Marketing and most recently the Pediatric and Severe-to-Profound hearing aid product teams.

Rachel K. Bishop, Au.DLaunch Program Manager, Phonak

Rachel has been an employee of Sonova for the past 8 years starting as a hearing care professional in the Sonova US retail chain, Connect Hearing. In the summer of 2016 she moved from Dallas, Texas to Zurich Switzerland to fulfill her dream of shifting from helping people hear better- two ears at a time- to making a larger impact on the hearing impaired population. For the past 4 years, she has been working at Phonak Headquarters in Stäfa Switzerland, in various marketing roles. Now she works as the Launch Program Manager for the Specialty Business Unit: Pediatrics and Adults. Rachel has a doctorate in Audiology and will complete an eMBA from Harvard Business School in 2021

Elizabeth GalsterProduct Manager, Advanced Bionics

Elizabeth Galster is a medical device marketer, with a role at Advanced Bionics as Product Manager. As product manager of Marvel CI, she has

to ensure products meet user needs and expectations. She contributes to product messaging to ensure clinical research is accurately reflected and end-user benefits are highlighted. She also directs global product launch planning. She previously managed a team of research audiologists tasked withclinical investigation of emerging hearing aid technology. Elizabeth holds a clinical doctorate in audiology from Vanderbilt University.

Phonak and Advanced Bionics Virtual Media Conference - December 16, 2020