Home>Foundation>Team

who we are

fOUNDATION
BODIES

en
- de

The Foundation Board is made up of Sonova Group leaders and external experts with long-term foundation management experience. It is a strategic body that oversees and guides the Foundation’s strategy and purpose. The Foundation Board decides on the allocation of funds and advises the Executive team on management and governance topics.

The Advisory Board, consisting of external experts and professors in audiology, evaluates suitable projects and proposes them to the Foundation Board to allocate foundation funds. The Advisory Board members are all employed in an honorary capacity. Incidental expenses are reimbursed as and when they occur.

The Executive team is responsible for the Foundation’s strategic and operational management, oversees communications, partnership building and stakeholder management, and consults with the Advisory Board in program portfolio management.

FOUNDATION BOARD

Arnd Kaldowski (President)

Beate Eckhardt

Christophe Fond

Dr. Katrin Imhof

ADVISORY BOARD

Prof. Dr. Beatriz Novaes

Dr. med. Doreen Mulenga

Dr. med. Dorothe Veraguth

Prof. Lena Wong

Prof. Emeritus Patricia Roush

Executive Team

Dr. Joëlle Pianzola

Domitille Harb

Marisa Schnurrenberger

Gerald Lilburn

Rugile Staneviciute

Rina Hernandez-Sae Ma

Dr. Jacqueline Drexler

Employee Consultants

Arnd Kaldowski (President)

CEO of Sonova Holding AG and President of the board of the Hear the World Foundation.

Arnd Kaldowski joined the Sonova Group in October 2017 as Chief Operating Officer and became CEO as of April 1, 2018. He joined Sonova from Danaher Corporation, where he served in various leadership capacities since 2008, most recently as Group Executive of the Diagnostics Platform and President Beckman Coulter Diagnostics.

Arnd Kaldowski holds a Master of Science in Physics from the Technical University Darmstadt, Germany, and an MBA from INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France.

Beate Eckhardt

Beate Eckhardt joined the Foundation Board in March 2021 and is an expert in foundations and philanthropy.

She consults foundations on the strategic positioning of their work’s social impact. As owner of Eckhardt Consulting, she is familiar with the Hear the World Foundation through her former position as Managing Director of Swiss Foundations, the Association of Grant-Making Foundations in Switzerland.

Beate Eckhardt holds an Executive Master of Science in Communications Management from the Universities of Lucerne and Los Angeles and a Master in German Language and Literature, Social and Economic History, from the University of Zurich.

Christophe Fond

Christophe Fond joined the Foundation Board in March 2021 and is Group Vice President Audiological Care of the Sonova Group.

Prior to that, he held the role of President Latin America at Grand Vision, a global leader in optical retailing, and was a member of their Executive Board. In the course of his career, Christophe Fond has acquired extensive experience in global retail management, leading the transformational growth of large-scale retail enterprises, including acquisitions, mergers and integrations.

Christophe Fond holds a Master of Business Administration from IMD-Switzerland and graduated from the Superior School of Military Engineering (ESAG) in France.

Dr. Katrin Imhof

Dr. Katrin Imhof joined the Foundation Board in March 2021 and is an expert in sustainable development cooperation and humanitarian aid.

She has many years of experience working with UN governments and decision-makers, NGOs, the private sector, and directly with marginalized populations in over 40 countries. At Right to Play, Katrin Imhof was a member of the Executive Board for six years - most recently as Global Chief Program Officer - and previously spent 13 years on assignment with UNICEF in Libya, Bolivia, Thailand, Iran, Nigeria and Afghanistan.

She is inspired by different cultures, lifestyles and skills that make the world more diverse, peaceful and healthy.

Prof. Dr. Beatriz Novaes

Beatriz Novaes is a professor of The Department of Human and Health Science at PUCSP, Brazil and Superintendent of Derdic, a clinical and educational facility maintained by Fundação São Paulo and academically part of PUCSP.

She has been involved in the area of early intervention for hearing impaired for 30 years and has experience in Audiology, Speech Therapy, focusing on Aural Rehabilitation, and Hearing Health. Her research is primarily focused on intervention programs for hearing impaired children and their families, particularly those of low income families addressing the issue of adhesion to consistent use and care of electronic devices and initial steps of therapeutic process. She was founder member of the Brazilian Academy of Audiology. She was honoured in 2012 as speech pathologist and audiologist of the year by the Brasilian Society of Phonoaudiology (speech pathology and audiology). Dr Novaes is currently a member of an advisory committee of the Ministry of Health, involving consulting in public policies for people with disabilities.

Dr. med. Doreen Mulenga

Dr. med. Doreen Mulenga has had over 25 years of experience working on child development and protection issues in collaboration with governments and partners which include private sector, NGOs as well as beneficiaries.

Programs supported are those that specifically targeted vulnerable children and their families including children with physical or sensory impairment to address issues of access to health, education and social services. She spent most of her working career with UNICEF at national, regional and Headquarter levels in Zambia, USA, Nigeria, Botswana, Denmark, Jordan and Uganda. Dr Mulenga retired from UNICEF in 2020 and is currently a Board member for a UK based charity as well as a member of the Zambia Business Angels Network.

Dr. med. Dorothe Veraguth

Dr. med. Dorothe Veraguth is Head of Divisions of Phoniatrics, Clinic of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery University Hospital of Zurich, Switzerland.

Dr. Veraguth currently heads the Audiology department of the Ear, Nose, Throat and Facial Surgery Clinic at the University Hospital Zurich. This phoniatrics specialist holds a teaching position at this university, teaches logopedics and audio pedagogy at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences of Special Needs Education (HfH), and holds another teaching position in the field of pediatric hearing-aid acoustics. In addition, Dr. Veraguth is the Chairperson of the Audiology Committee at the Swiss Ear, Nose, Throat and Facial Surgery Association (SGORL).

Prof. Lena Wong

Prof. Lena Wong is Professor in Audiology at the University of Hong Kong; and a Past-President of the International Society of Audiology.

Her research interests include barriers and facilitators of hearing aid uptake, outcome measurement of amplification devices, and speech and tone perception. She is the primary editor of the book “Evidence-Based Practice in Audiology: Evaluating Interventions for Children and Adults with Hearing Impairment”. She is a Fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and an elected Fellow of the International Collegium of Rehabilitative Audiology (ICRA). Lena Wong is an associate editor of the International Journal of Audiology and has worked tirelessly to educate individuals who work with children and adults with communication disorders in mainland China.

Professor Emeritus Patricia Roush

Patricia Roush, AuD, is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Otolaryngology, University of North Carolina School of Medicine in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.

Dr. Roush has been a practicing clinician for over 35 years. Prior to joining the faculty at UNC in 2000, she was a pediatric audiologist at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Boston Children’s Hospital, Denver Children’s Hospital, and Duke University Medical Center. Her areas of specialization and clinical research have focused on the diagnosis of hearing loss and fitting of amplification in infants, and on the audiologic management of auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder. Dr. Roush has published on a variety of topics related to audiological management of infants and young children and has lectured nationally and internationally. She is currently is Professor of Otolaryngology in the University of North Carolina School of Medicine and Director of Pediatric Audiology at UNC Hospitals, USA.

Dr. Joëlle Pianzola

As Managing Director, Joëlle Pianzola leads the Hear the World Foundation and is responsible for driving its sustainable impact management.

She oversees the Foundation’s strategic and operational management, directs its governance and partnerships and is responsible for the Foundation’s team and global programs. Before joining Sonova and the Hear the World Foundation, Joëlle served as the Executive Director of the Public Policy Group at ETH Zurich and the Immigration Policy Lab of Stanford University and ETH Zurich.

Joëlle is a former management consultant for the public and private sector and holds a PhD in the field of behavioral economics from the University of Lausanne, and an MA in political science from the University of Berne.

Domitille Harb

As Senior Porfolio Manager, Domitille Harb is responsible for steering the program portfolio in line with the Foundation’s strategy.

She leads the grantmaking process and oversees the portfolio with the ultimate goal to enhance quality, impact and sustainability of the projects supported. Domitille's experience spans across strategic management, corporate communications and non-profit operations. Prior to joining our Foundation, Domitille served as Chief of Staff and Communications at Education.org. She was a director at Brunswick and a senior management consultant at Kearney.

Domitille holds a MSc in Management from HEC Paris and a CEMS Masters in International Management from LSE.

Miriam Hahn

As Office Manager, Miriam Hahn acts as a hub function for various foundation processes and topics. She supports governance topics and manages the foundation’s volunteer program.

Miriam acts as a sparring partner for various projects, works closely with the foundation director on governance topics and manages the foundation’s volunteer program.

She has worked with Boards, in fundraising and communications in international NGOs and foundations in Canada, Germany, Switzerland and Hong Kong.

Miriam received her M.A. in Political Science from the University of Augsburg and holds a diploma in Fundraising Management (Zurich University of Applied Sciences) and a postgraduate certificate in Philanthropic Studies (University of Kent).

Rugile Staneviciute

As Program Manager, Rugile Staneviciute leads and manages the programs in EMEA and APAC from the onboarding, implementation to regular evaluation and continuous improvement.

Rugile builds up trustful partnerships with project partners with the ambition to achieve long-term sustainability and turning the programs into success.

Due to her well-rounded hearing industry commercial knowledge, that she gained from working 5 years in Strategic Pricing and Product Management, she strives to successfully leverage global Sonova infrastructure and network, aiming for maximum use of synergies and efficiency.

Rugile holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Information Management from Vilnius University, Lithuania.

Juanita Riveros

As Junior Program Manager, Juanita Riveros supports the global program portfolio management to enhance quality impact and sustainability of projects.

Juanita assists the team with strategic, operational, and administrative support to ensure the successful execution of sustainable projects.

Before joining the Foundation, Juanita interned at Save the Children and gained previous experience in the CSR sector in Latin America. Juanita holds a Master’s degree in Development Studies from the Geneva Graduate Institute (IHEID).

Marisa Schnurrenberger

As Donor Relation Manager, Marisa Schnurrenberger is the contact person for all donors, who support the mission of the Hear the World Foundation.

She builds trusting partnerships with private and institutional supporters, engages Sonova employees in fundraising activities and is appreciative of every donation as it will positively impact on children’s lives.

Marisa has been a changemaker for over 25 years - be it in development work in Southeast Asia, as a fundraiser for a large environmental protection organization or in medical research as a foundation board member. She lives philanthropy and strives to communicate the joy that each donation can bring.

Marisa holds a degree in Fundraising Management from the Zurich University of Applied Sciences.

Rina Hernandez-Sae Ma

As Communications and Engagement Manager, Rina Hernandez-Sae Ma is responsible for all communications and engagement activities of the Hear the World Foundation (HTWF).

She manages all channels (on- and offline), the positioning of the brand, creates visibility for the work of the Foundation internally and externally and aligns the narrative and storytelling to HTWF’s strategy.

Rina's experience spans the film and media, biotech, and non-profit industries, covering communications, marketing, public relations and social media in both multinationals and start-up organizations. She has professional experience working in the United States, Thailand, and Chile.

Rina holds an MA in Health Sciences with an emphasis in Health Policy and Economics from the University of Lucerne in Switzerland.

Dr. Jacqueline Drexler

As Program Manager, Jacqueline Drexler leads and manages programs in LATAM and EMEA. Her responsibilities range from onboarding project partners to the implementation, regular evaluation, and continuous improvement of programs.

Jacqueline builds up trustful partnerships with project partners with the ambition of achieving long-term sustainability and turning the programs into success.

She has worked in various roles across Sonova and brings a unique perspective to the Hear the World Foundation with both her audiological background and experience living with hearing loss. She strives to ensure that project partners receive the necessary tools, knowledge, and trainings to support the autonomy and sustainability of projects.

Jacqueline received her Bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her Doctor of Audiology degree from the University at Buffalo in New York

Gerald Lilburn

As Senior Program Manager, Gerald Lilburn leads and drives the global strategic initiatives to maximize social impact across the programs within the HTWF network.

He works closely with the stakeholders to build partnerships and continuously improve program efficiency and process improvement, whilst focusing on sustainability and scalability, both with existing and new projects.

Gerald brings over 15 years of international project management experience, both in the business & development sectors, holds a MSc in Development Management, as well as the dual degree of a BA (Hons) in European Business & Diplom-Betriebswirt.

Anna Biggins

Anna Biggins, Global Clinical Development and Training Manager, Sonova HQ, based in Stäfa, Switzerland.

Anna is a Senior Audiologist within the Lyric team, promoting audiological and clinical benefits shown in scientific evidence. She also provides audiological training and support to customers.

She has supported the Foundation for many years in fundraising activities, volunteering in India, Africa and the Lebanon and, more recently, working with the team to host training webinars to our global project partners.

In the future, Anna will provide continuous audiological training to our project teams, enabling them to further improve and provide the best services they possibly can.

Avinash Grubb

Avinash Grubb, Zonal Audiologist and Special Projects, Sonova APAC & India, based in Mumbai, India.

Avinash is responsible for audiology support for the South and East of India and special projects for APAC and India.

For many years, he has supported the Rangammal School for Deaf Children with troubleshooting camps, pediatric fitting and fine tuning workshops for their staff. During the lockdown in 2020, he facilitated rehab training for the teachers.

Avinash will facilitate our new partnership in India with the goal of building a Center of Excellence for Pediatric Audiology. He will provide guidance for equipment installation, train the staff and support neo natal screenings in Andhra Pradesh.

Bettina Turnbull

Bettina Turnbull, Director Audiology Knowledge Management and Education, Sonova, based in Sydney, Australia.

Bettina guides Sonova colleagues worldwide to develop and promote audiology best practices and to identify, share and distribute relevant resources. She is also responsible for the Swiss International Hearing Academy, Sonova’s education platform for healthcare professionals.

In 2019, Bettina supported the Foundation with projects in Vietnam and Cambodia, assessing and fitting children with hearing aids, and providing training to staff on site. She regularly holds online trainings for our project partners, teaching about real ear measurement (REM) and developing relevant KPIs.

Going forward, Bettina will further help us to foster a more structured approach to the evaluation and delivery of audiology education needs in different foundation projects. She will also support the training of HCPs on the ground that will ensure the autonomy and sustainability of projects.

Cloe Yang

Cloe Yang, Director Audiology Training and Sonova Grand Hearing Institute, Sonova China, based in Beijing.

Cloe leads the Audiology team to deliver professional audiology and training services to Sonova colleagues and to business partners. Her team’s mission: Improve and empower healthcare practitioners’ professional skills so that more people can enjoy the delight of sound.

Cloe accompanies the Foundation to interview potential receiving candidates in Asia, acting as the central point of contact between the Foundation, local Sonova teams, project partners, and other stakeholders in the region. She also supports the success and smooth implementation of the projects.

Jean Anne Schnittker

Jean Anne Schnittker, Research Audiologist, Health and Service Delivery Exploration Team, Sonova HQ, based in Munich, Germany.

Jean Anne is a research audiologist with a focus on exploring eAudiology topics to increase access and convenience to hearing aid fitting and audiological services around the globe. She is also active in pediatric research, and education of hearing care professionals.

From 2012 to 2021, Jean Anne served as a Board Member of the Foundation. During this time, she supported projects in Vietnam and Cambodia to help improve pediatric hearing aid fitting through verification, established partnerships with our external equipment supporters, provided audiological mentorship to projects, and participated in many fundraising activities.

Jean Anne will continue serving as an audiology mentor to project partners, and also work to establish sustainable and measurable outcomes. She will also look for opportunities within R&D where technology can help to expand the reach and services projects can provide to their communities.

Sally Arafat

Sally Arafat, Regional Marketing Manager, Sonova Middle East & North Africa, based in Amman, Jordan.

Sally works closely with Sonova distributors in the MENA region, helping them to provide the best possible services to their customers and to come up with efficient B2B and B2C marketing ideas and campaigns.

She supported two Foundation projects in Lebanon and Jordan through administrative aid and translation work, and will now provide continued support to our project partners in the MENA region.

Stefan Launer

Stefan Launer, Senior VP Audiology and Health Innovation, Sonova HQ, based in Stäfa, Switzerland.

Stefan drives the functional innovation of Sonova’s solutions in the fields of hearing and fitting performance, as well as the approach to embed hearing care in the broader context of health promotion. He is also responsible for the network of international researchers and academic partnerships.

In the past, Stefan supported the Foundation with expertise on projects and content on various topics, mainly around pediatric hearing care.

Stefan will now have more regular and strategic exchanges with our team to excel our project work. He brings vast experience in the field of audiology and pediatric hearing care, as well as a broad network with KOLs worldwide.

Sunil Kapoor

Sunil Kapoor, Senior Director APAC, Advanced Bionics, based in Singapore.

Sunil joined Advanced Bionics in 2003 and has held various roles in the US and in APAC. He is currently Senior Director of APAC.

As an Employee Consultant, Sunil has been assisting the Foundation and project partners to set up and coordinate the cochlear implant (CI) donation project in Vietnam and a CI project in Lebanon. He also reviews CI project applications in other parts of the world.

Going forward, Sunil will use his expertise in the CI domain to determine how to sustainably run CI projects and to ensure existing projects are supported globally.

Talita Donini

Talita Donini, audiologist, and speech therapist with master’s in audiology. Group of product manager at Sonova Brazil, based in São Paulo, Brazil.

Since 2008, my journey at Sonova is dedicated to share information and support for audiologists around the country concerning best practices on pediatric audiology. Working with training, product support and dedicated communication, alongside with this journey, HtW was always present, whether promoting locally content about the foundation, or helping the professionals with local projects. This relationship got strongly in 2015, when I had the opportunity to share my experiences on Tamil Nadu project, in India.

Being part of this team is an important personal and professional mission, and I hope I can support the initiative with my experiences for more engagement and developing activities in Brazil and Latin America.

Activity Report 2019/20

CHF 3.95 Mio for people with hearing loss

In the 2019/20 financial year, the Hear the World Foundation provided 3.95 million Swiss francs in support for people with hearing loss. With this funding, the foundation aided 23 projects in 20 countries plus 1 worldwide by supplying them with hearing technology, funding and expertise.

Knowledge

Hearing and hearing loss

The importance of good hearing and the consequences of hearing loss are often underestimated. We inform about the subject.

Donate now

Your donation changes lives

Join us and support our projects for children with hearing loss. Thanks to your generosity, we can expand audiological care in Asia, Africa and Latin America, and give children a self-determined future.

OUR ENGAGEMENT AROUND THE WORLD

TOGETHER FOR BETTER HEARING

October
2016

Developing pediatric care

Everyday life in one of the poorest countries in Latin America has very little in common with the holiday idyll we know. For many Dominicans, accessing medical care is beyond reach of whom almost half live in slums. We want to change this.

Reviving a quiet community

In Appalachia there are many people with hearing loss as a result of noise exposure in the local coal-fired power stations. Hear the World provides a local aid project with hearing aids and funding and sends volunteers.

More capacity for children with hearing loss

In Brazil, the population often has to undertake a long journey to receive audiological care. The Hear the World Foundation changes this circumstances by training experts for more centers providing comprehensive audiological care in the future.

TOP

Hear the World

Newsletter

Subscribe to our newsletter and we regularly inform you about our project work as well as topics about hearing and hearing loss.

Hear the World Foundation is a nonprofit organization registered in Switzerland under CHE-1 13.304.651.

Newsletter registration

a Sonova Group initiative

fOUNDATION BODIES

fOUNDATION
BODIES