Susan Van Horne Joins Cochlear Americas as Vice President, Marketing

Denver, CO - December 2003 -- Cochlear Americas, manufacturer of the Cochlear Nucleus® line of implants and the world leader in cochlear implant technology, has hired Susan Van Horne as Vice President, Marketing. Van Horne will be responsible for strategic marketing initiatives, corporate and marketing communications, sales support, advertising and public relations.

Before joining Cochlear, Van Horne had served nine years at Valleylab, Tyco International in Boulder, CO, the world leader in electrosurgery and ultrasonic surgery systems. In her most recent position as Marketing Director, Strategy & Technology Development at Valleylab, she was responsible for product development, portfolio management, assessment of strategic marketing initiatives, and management of key business relationships.

Prior to Valleylab, Susan Van Horne spent six years at Stratus Immunochemistry, Baxter Healthcare. At Stratus, she held positions including Market Manager, U.S. Field Programs in Miami, FL, responsible for the development and implementation of domestic marketing initiatives. She had also been Product Manager, Cardiovascular Products and Sales Representative.

Susan holds an M.B.A. from the University of Denver, and an M.S. in basic science and a B.S. in exercise physiology from the University of Colorado in Boulder.

About Cochlear Americas.
Denver-based Cochlear Americas is the U.S. headquarters for Cochlear Limited, the world leader in cochlear implant technology. Cochlear is a winner of the 2001 Medical Design Excellence Awards for its design of the Cochlear Nucleus® 24 Contour™ implant and the FDA Commissioner's Special Citation for the development and commercialization of the Cochlear Nucleus® 24 Multichannel Auditory Brainstem implant. To date, more than 50,000 people worldwide have received Cochlear Nucleus® implants. For more information about Cochlear's products, call the Cochlear Nucleus Hotline at 800/458-4999 (Voice) or 800/483-3123 (TTY) or visit the website at www.cochlear.com.