Sonova Holding AG announced the appointment of Victoria E. Carr-Brendel as Group Vice President (GVP) Cochlear Implants of Sonova and President of Advanced Bionics and of Ludger Althoff as GVP Operations. Both appointments will be effective on April 1, 2019. Ludger Althoff will be succeeding Hans Mehl, who will continue to support Sonova until his retirement in June 2020. Victoria E. Carr-Brendel will take over her role from Hansjürg Emch. In the future, the leadership position of the President of Advanced Bionics will be based in the facilities of AB in Valencia, California, reflecting the strategic importance of the US market for the cochlear implants business of the Group and its core functions of product management, R&D and production. Vicky joins Sonova from JenaValve Technology Inc. where she became CEO in mid-2015. She is an accomplished medical device executive with vast experience across several therapeutic areas. She started her career as a scientist in research and development, and took on increasingly larger business roles throughout her career. At JenaValve, she was responsible for bringing the company through new product development, clinical trial completion for CE mark, and optimizing the commercial launch of their next generation valve and system. Prior to her present position, she worked as Franchise General Manager at Boston Scientific, in the Peripheral Interventions division, where she ran global business operations, including the Bayer interventional radiology acquisition. Vicky has a successful track record of growing businesses and improving profitability. Having spent her entire career in healthcare, she has a background as an innovation and growth leader, bringing with her marketing, development, clinical and strategic business experience in the medical device sector.