Executive Team
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SONIC innovations
We
design, develop, manufacture and market advanced digital hearing
aids that are intended to provide the highest levels of satis-faction
for hearing impaired customers. Capitalizing on our advanced
understanding of human hearing, we have developed patented
digital signal processing (“DSP”) technologies and embedded
them in the smallest single-chip DSP platform ever installed
in a hearing
aid. In the U.S., we sell finished hearing aids principally
to hearing care professionals. Outside the U.S., we sell finished
hearing aids
and hearing aid kits principally to distributors, except in
Australia where we sell hearing aids on a retail basis to
the hearing impaired
consumer. We occasionally sell hearing aid components to other
hearing aid manufacturers. We first began shipping product
in the fourth quarter of 1998. We completed our initial public offering in May 2000.
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Samuel L. Westover
President and CEO
Samuel L. Westover joined Sonic Innovations, Inc.,
in October 2005 as President and CEO. Mr. Westover
was elected to Sonic’s Board of Directors in January
2002 and served as Chairman of the Audit Committee
until his appointment as President and CEO. From
2002 to 2004, Mr. Westover was President and CEO
of CIGNA Dental and President of CIGNA HealthCare’s
Small Business Segment. Mr. Westover was also CEO
of two public companies and was the founding Chief
Financial Officer of Wellpoint, the largest health
insurer in the U.S. In connection with the Salt
Lake City 2002 Winter Olympics, Mr. Westover was
Special Assistant to the Governor of Utah, establishing
an independent economic development task force.
He also received a gubernatorial appointment to
serve as Chairman of the Public Education Job Enhancement
Committee, providing scholarships and financial
assistance to facilitate advanced education of high
school teachers in math and sciences. Mr. Westover
received the Los Angeles, California Entrepreneur
of the Year award in 2000 from Ernst & Young,
CNN, NASDAQ and USA Today. Mr. Westover earned a
bachelor’s degree in accounting from Brigham Young
University and is a Certified Public Accountant.
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Michael Halloran
Vice President and CFO
Michael M. Halloran joined Sonic Innovations in April 1999 as Corporate Controller and was promoted to Vice President in 2002. He was named Vice President and CFO in July 2006. Mr. Halloran began his career at Ernst and Young, where he worked for eight years. From 1994 to 1999, he held various senior positions at C.R. Bard, a large medical device company, based in New Jersey. Mr. Halloran is a CPA and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, with a concentration in Accounting, from State University of New York at Oswego.
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Brent H. Shimada
Vice President Administration and General Counsel
Brent H. Shimada joined Sonic Innovations in October
2004 as Vice President, Human Resources and Administration
and became Vice President Administration and General
Counsel in December 2005. From May 1999 to October
2004,
he was Human Resources
Director for American Express’ Global Travelers
Cheque Operations Group. Mr. Shimada served as Senior
Corporate Counsel for grocery and drug retail conglomerate
American Stores Company from 1996 to 1999. He was
Legal Counsel for Alliant Techsystems, Inc. (formerly
Hercules Incorporated), a government contractor,
from 1985 to 1996. Mr. Shimada earned Bachelor’s
(Finance), MBA and Juris Doctor degrees from the
University of Utah. |
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Jeffrey R. Geigel
Vice President, North American Sales
Jeffrey R. Geigel was General Manager of Sonic Innovations’
Canadian operations from June 2002 until his promotion to Vice
President of North American Sales in December 2005, with responsibility
for the U.S. Sales organization and the Canadian operations.
Mr. Geigel initially joined Sonic in 2001 as a business development
consultant. From 1998 to 2001 he was Executive Vice President
of Helix Hearing Care of America Corporation, a North American
operator of hearing healthcare clinics, managing the growth
of that company from $5 million to over $45 million. Mr. Geigel
earned his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Ottawa.
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Christie R. Mitchell
Vice President, Manufacturing Operations
Christie R. Mitchell joined Sonic Innovations in 2000 as Materials
Manager, was promoted to Director of Material Logistics in 2003
and became Vice President Manufacturing Operations in December
2005. Ms. Mitchell has been critical in reducing material, supply,
manufacturing and product costs and improving inventory efficiencies
throughout Sonic’s worldwide operations. From 1981 to 2000, she
was with the procurement and materials management organization
of the Baker Hughes Company, a provider of drilling products and
services to the worldwide oil and gas industry. As Worldwide Materials
Director for Baker Hughes, Ms. Mitchell significantly improved
quality, cost and shipment efficiencies by developing worldwide
alliance agreements with suppliers, implementing quality programs
and utilizing enterprise resource planning systems.
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Victor Bray, Ph.D.
Vice President & Chief Audiology Officer
Victor Hugo Bray, Jr. joined Sonic Innovations in 1997 and became Vice President for Auditory Research in 1999 and Vice President for Quality Systems in 2004. In March 2006 he was designated the Chief Audiology Officer for Sonic Innovations. He has over 25 years experience in the field, including 15 years in private practice and over 10 years in industry. He earned his bachelor's degree in biochemistry from the University of Georgia, a master's degree in audiology from Auburn University, and a doctorate in speech and hearing science from the University of Texas at Austin. He is a 2003 recipient of the Hearing Industries Association (HIA) Volunteerism Award for dedication, expertise, and effort in creating a structure that ensures the substance and the science that supports hearing aid marketing and advertising in America.
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Jerry DaBell
Vice President, Research and Development
Jerry L. DaBell joined Sonic Innovations, Inc. in July 2000 as Vice
President, Business Development and became Vice President, Research
and Development in July 2005. He was Senior Vice President of
Product Development at IMP, Inc., a semiconductor manufacturer, where
he was
employed from 1988 to 2000.
He earned a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in electrical
engineering
from Brigham Young University.
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David R. Whittle
Vice President of Worldwide Quality
David R. Whittle joined Sonic Innovations in October 2007 as Vice President of Worldwide Quality. Prior to joining Sonic, Mr. Whittle was Vice President, General Manager of DEI Systems, Inc., a Fiberglass, Odor Control Manufacturing Company, supplying products and systems to municipal and industrial markets. From 1982 to 2000 he held numerous senior management positions including Director of Worldwide Quality, and Director of Operations for Baker Hughes Company, a provider of oil and gas drilling products. Mr. Whittle earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Manufacturing Engineering from Weber State University and is an ASQC Certified Quality Auditor.
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