Hearing Practitioner Australia’s bi-monthly bulletin to keep the Australian hearing sector updated on new appointments and personnel changes, nationally and globally.
CHANGE OF GUARD FOR GN HEARING
Mr Peter Justesen has taken over from Scott Davis as leader of GN’s hearing business. Davis stepped down from daily management but will continue to support GN in an advisory role. CEO Mr Peter Karlstromer said Davis was instrumental in securing GN’s strong position in the hearing aid market and thanked him for his strong, customer-centric leadership of GN’s hearing business.“ Peter Justesen comes with 13 years of background in GN, most recently heading up hearing international sales,” Karlstromer said. “We have great momentum in our hearing business and together with our competent teams and leaders around the world, I’m sure we can keep building on that.”
NEW STARKEY ANZ HR MANAGER
Ms Justine Kelly is the new human and resources manager for Starkey Hearing Technologies Australia and New Zealand. Her qualifications include an Associated Diploma of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Business with Certificates in Leadership Development. Kelly is an established HR professional with a demonstrated history of working in fast-paced and dynamic environments to deliver high-end solutions in all facets of HR. Her background includes mergers and acquisitions, organisational transformation and turn-arounds, systems integration and implementation, employee engagement, talent coaching and management, remuneration awards and recognition, employee relations, enterprise bargaining agreement negotiations and award interpretation.
HEARING HUB ROLE FOR SAYEDALI
Mr Sayedali ‘Ali’ Mohseni has joined the Australian Hearing Hub at Macquarie University as a research assistant. In this role, he works on a project led by Dr Heivet Hernandez-Perez (primary chief investigator), Dr Joerg Encke (chief investigator), and Professor Jorg Buchholz (associate investigator), exploring how reverberant environments affect speech understanding and spatial hearing through data analysis, signal processing, and behavioural experiments with human listeners. Mohseni has a Bachelor’s degree in polymer engineering and a Master’s in data science. He previously worked at the Kolling Institute, Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, and AI Point, contributing to projects in genome sequencing, AI, and medical imaging.
CANDID HEARING OPENS IN CANBERRA
In May 2025, driven by a passion to assist individuals with their hearing needs, Ms Pooja Bontu established her own independent audiology clinic, Candid Hearing. The Canberra- based clinic serves the ACT and surrounding NSW regions. Bontu completed a Master’s degree in audiology and speech pathology in India in 2009 and worked in ENT clinics for two years before moving to Australia in 2011. Since then, she has been a full member of ACAud inc HAASA. She was previously employed by Amplifon until 2024.
HEARING INDUSTRIES ASSOCIATION CHAIR
Mr Brandon Sawalich, Starkey’s president and CEO, is the new chairman of the Hearing Industries Association in the US which represents hearing aid technology. He said he was honoured to take on the role. “I look forward to collaborating with my fellow board members to address emerging opportunities that will benefit the millions of people who rely on our innovations for their health and well-being,” he said. The board unanimously elected him after the retirement of outgoing chair Ms Sandy Brandmeier. In May Sawalich was also named Best MedTech Company CEO by the 2025 MedTech Breakthrough Awards which recognise the top companies, people, platforms and products in health, fitness and medical technology industries.
FISCHER LEADS COCHLEAR IMPLANT USERS
Mr Tobias Fischer has been appointed president of EURO-CIU, the European Association of Cochlear Implant Users, representing cochlear implant users across 23 countries. He also serves as president of ÖCIG, the Austrian Cochlear Implant Association. Fischer was one of the first children in Germany and Europe to receive a cochlear implant in 1988. His lifelong experience as a cochlear implant user has shaped his deep commitment to advocacy, accessibility, and inclusion in hearing health. Through his roles, he aims to strengthen the voice of cochlear implant users and promote positive change in policy, innovation, and support across Europe and beyond.
