Senior leadership team expansion targets innovation in sales and customer experience
October 07, 2014 - Kitchener, Canada – Unitron, a global innovator of advanced hearing solutions, today announced the appointment of Søren Østergaard to the position of Vice President of International Sales and Maija Michell as Head of Global Human Resources. The appointments support Unitron’s international growth ambitions, as well as its global efforts to advance customer experience with a particular focus on practice growth through product innovation and a superior patient experience.
Based in Unitron’s international sales office in Switzerland, Østergaard will apply his substantial industry experience to leading the company’s sales and marketing operations outside North America in more than 60 countries around the world. Østergaard spent eight years with GN ReSound, a global manufacturer of hearing aids and eight years with Ambu, an international developer of diagnostic and life-supporting devices for hospitals and rescue services. He was most recently Executive Vice President, International Sales for Origio where he led a team of more than 100 sales professionals and compound annual growth of more than 25 per cent over five years.
“Unitron is uniquely positioned to capitalize on the future because it is committed to making great things happen for hearing healthcare professionals as well as people living with hearing loss,” said Østergaard. “I am energized by the opportunity to play a role in this great global story.”
Based in Unitron’s Global Headquarters in Kitchener, Canada, Michell is an international HR leader with a track record of success within highly-competitive technology sectors. Prior to joining Unitron, Michell spent 14 years with Psion (now Motorola) in Canada, most recently as Vice President of Human Resources. During her tenure there, she worked closely with Psion’s subsidiaries across North America and Europe. She will work with her colleagues around the world to attract and develop top talent, as well as further a corporate culture rooted in a superior customer experience, innovation and collaboration. “I believe Unitron’s ability to achieve sustained growth and momentum around the world comes from senior leadership that understands its single greatest asset is its people,” said Michell. “The fundamentals are all in place to build a truly world-class culture focused on high-quality service and innovation.”
“These appointments further confirm our commitment to providing best -in-class products backed by a team that is second to none in our industry,” said Jan Metzdorff, President, Unitron. “ Søren brings to Unitron a commanding level of international experience and a proven track record of building successful sales organizations within our industry, while Maija has proven she knows how to build high-performance cultures capable of attracting and retaining top talent. We are thrilled to have these executives join our senior team.”
About Unitron
Unitron is a global company that understands the hearing healthcare business is built on strong, personal relationships. We work closely with hearing healthcare professionals to improve the lives of people with hearing lo ss. A member of the Sonova Group, Unitron has a proven track record of developing hearing innovations that provide natural sound with exceptional speech understanding. Headquartered in Canada, Unitron distributes its full line of hearing instruments to cus tomers in over 60 countries. For more information, please visit us on the web at unitron.com or the Unitron Expo Page on AudiologyOnline
