Interview with Niels Jacobsen President & CEO of Oticon International, and President & CEO of William Demant Holdings

Beck: Good Morning Niels. It's a pleasure to speak with you.

Jacobsen: Hi Doug. Nice to meet with you this morning too.

Beck: I wonder if you would mind sharing a "thumbnail sketch" of your education and professional background with us?

Jacobsen: Certainly, I graduated in 1983 from the University of Aarhus, earning my degree essentially as a business economist. I worked for three other companies before joining Oticon in January of 1992. And so I have been with Oticon for 13 years.

Beck: Thank you. Niels, from your position as a leader in the global hearing aid business, I wonder, what hurdles are we facing, and what solutions can you offer?

Jacobsen: I don't see major roadblocks or deficiencies, but I do see some challenges out there. Among the challenges is the fact that we must continually develop newer and better technologies to benefit the patients, the end-users of our products. In other words, we can never say the product is "good enough." We, as a company, and also as an industry, have come a very long way in a relatively brief time. The technology available today was almost unimaginable ten years ago, and the quality of the products available today, and in development, is very encouraging. Having said that, I think our major challenge is to maximize true user benefit - not just the technology! In other words, the technology is fantastic, but we have to make sure we stay focused on maximizing user benefit. Not to sound like I am preaching, but it's very important to make sure we have quantitative and qualitative research, and outcome data, consistent with our goal of putting people first, and solving the problems of the end-users.

Beck: I'm glad you mentioned that because there is a real push in the USA to promote "outcomes" and "evidence based research." In fact, this is not just an issue for the hearing aid industry, but also a challenge for the hearing healthcare researchers and professionals. But getting back to the industry, the issue is probably simpler than we've made it...Perhaps it's as easy as starting with a hearing aid circuit design, testing it across multiple populations, in multiple standardized environments and acoustic situations, and then if the product meets or exceeds expectations, it becomes a commercially available product...if it doesn't perform as designed or anticipated, it goes back to the design bench!

Jacobsen: Yes. In that respect, it is simple. We need to perform really well on the basics, and the rest will follow. As long as the end-user is served well, everything else works fine. In fact, these are the areas in which we have focused our work at Oticon. Our research efforts have been geared towards identifying and maximizing end-user benefit. In essence, the goal is to continually offer better technology for the purpose of improving the value perceived and realized by the patient.

Beck: In addition to creating the products themselves, you must find yourself working on software and educational initiatives for the hearing healthcare professionals as well as the patients?

Jacobsen:- Yes. We spend a lot of time and energy developing materials to educate professionals, as they have a paramount need to understand and maximally fit the instruments. And again, this assures that the end user gets the maximal experience and value from the products. We have developed some truly advantageous software which can be use to fit the Syncro and other products, and it really is beneficial for the end-user in that it helps them understand what the product was designed to do, and they can see, hear and feel the experience to help develop and maintain "reasonable expectations" as to noise reduction, directionality, multiple programs and other attributes of the advanced digital products.

Beck: So in some respects, the hearing aid technology itself, although amazing, is not the entire ballgame?

Jacobsen: That's correct. We're driven by the needs of the end-user, and by creating technology that serves their needs. Fortunately, the technology is extraordinary, so we have fantastic tools to accomplish our goals. And so we reach the end-user by focusing on their needs, with information and science developed through audiology and psycho-acoustics and related sciences.

Beck: I know we only have a few moments, and I am very appreciative of your time...I wonder if you might offer advice for the professionals on the front lines, based on your knowledge and experience? What are the key factors to a successful practice?

Jacobsen: Well, I don't like to give too much advice! But I think it is very important to use the best possible products with your best possible hearing aid fitting and aural rehabilitative program, to create the most satisfied users.

Beck: So again, the technology is amazing, but in and of itself, it will not create enthusiastic, satisfied end-users, the professionals must do that!

Jacobsen: Exactly. As many of us have said before...An excellent hearing aid poorly fitted is worse than a mediocre hearing aid expertly fitted. The experience, knowledge and skill of the hearing healthcare professional, is and probably always be, the most important factor in the fitting. What the professional does is enormously important and it makes all the difference. We can provide the technology, hardware and software, but the education and the ability of the individual on the front line makes all the difference across the whole process.

Beck: Thanks for your time Niels. It's been a pleasure speaking with you.

Jacobsen: Thank you too, Doug. It's been a pleasure for me too.

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