SCHAUMBURG, Ill., November 2003 - GN Otometrics, the world leader in hearing and balance diagnostic systems, announced that Del Bloem, president of GN Otometrics North America, will retire from the company at the end of November to pursue other professional interests. His departure comes at the completion of a three-year contract that was part of the GN Otometrics acquisition of ICS Medical in 2000.
"At the outset, I believed that ICS Medical was a good, strategic fit for GN Otometrics, and in the transition period following the acquisition, I think we've seen evidence of the complementary strengths the company now brings to the marketplace," said Bloem. "I'm proud of the progress we've made and leave confident that GN Otometrics can continue to expand its industry leadership position in the coming years."
President of GN Otometrics North America for three years, Bloem previously was president and co-founder of ICS Medical. Founded in 1981, ICS Medical introduced the first commercial computer-based electronystagmograph in 1984. Since then, ICS has led in the application of computer-based electronystagmography and videonystagmography for the diagnosis of balance disorders. Market research from Frost and Sullivan has attributed a 45% worldwide market share to ICS for these products. More recently ICS has introduced evoked potential technology that can be combined with ENG and videonystagmography products.
"GN Otometrics owes Del a debt of gratitude for his substantial contribution to our corporate success," said Michael Brock, president of GN Otometrics. "He and Bob Simenson built a solid, profitable company in ICS Medical. Since the acquisition, Del has provided confident, insightful and steady leadership through the transition process." A successor has not been appointed, and Bloem's responsibilities have been assigned to other executives within the GN Otometrics organization. Uffe Bjerg has taken on Bloem's role as transition team leader and will continue that work out of the Schaumburg, Illinois office.
GN Otometrics Moving Forward
With the acquisition of ICS Medical, the GN Otometrics portfolio includes leading products in all the major areas of hearing and balance testing, further securing its position as the market leader. GN Otometrics will maintain its headquarters in Denmark, as well as an office in Germany, and two in the U.S.: Schaumburg, Illinois and Bloomington, Minnesota. Moving forward, all brands will be merged under the GN Otometrics name. Manufacturing, product development, marketing and financial services will be coordinated across the locations to ensure consistency of customer service and support.
GN Otometrics develops and markets advanced instrumentation for audiometry, immittance, otoacoustic emissions, evoked potentials, ABR, ENG, VNG, Live Speech Mapping, Real Ear Measurement, and hearing aid testing and verification. The company sells in more than 70 countries worldwide and is part of GN ReSound.
Click here to visit the ICS Medical website.
