Press room

Eden Prairie, Minnesota (December 21, 2021) – Starkey, the only American-owned hearing aid manufacturer, has announced three new leadership changes that emphasize a renewed commitment to serving its customers and providing the world class service and innovations they have come to expect.

"Since our beginning in 1967, serving our customers better than anyone else has been a consistent guiding principle,” said Brandon Sawalich, President and CEO of Starkey. “By adding three leadership positions with a strong concentration on customer initiatives, Starkey will continue to focus on innovating our customer experience and enhancing the trusted, quality service and sales support that our customers know and love.”

Jeff Geigel has been promoted to a newly created role of Chief Commercial Officer, where he will oversee Starkey’s strategies for wholesale and retail revenue growth, sales performance, and customer satisfaction, while leading U.S. and global sales. With over 20 years of experience in the hearing healthcare industry, Geigel has held chief executive and other executive-level positions within wholesale and retail hearing healthcare organizations.

Paul Phillips has also been promoted to Chief Customer Officer at Starkey. In this role, he will be responsible for modernizing the overall customer experience for existing and new global customers and partners, while leading Starkey’s Customer Service department. With 30 years of global hearing healthcare industry experience, Phillips has the expertise and leadership skills to bring Starkey customer service into a new era through systems, processes, and tool enhancements, while still preserving the human touch.

As Chief Audiology Officer and her newly expanded role of Executive Vice President of Product Strategy, Sara Burdak, Au.D.,is responsible for Starkey’s Corporate Marketing and Product Management teams, in addition to leading Education & Training, Clinical Research, and Government Services. During her time at Starkey, Burdak has successfully brought Starkey's newest and most innovative family of hearing aids, Evolv AI, to market. In her new role, she will build on this accomplishment by bringing Evolv AI and future product releases to global markets through an organized and strategic approach to Starkey’s product roadmap and marketing efforts.

With a renewed focus on customers and serving them better than anyone else, Starkey will continue to navigate a post-pandemic global economy by embracing change and growing through its people, products, and purpose. For more information about Starkey, click here.

For more information about Starkey, click here.

About Starkey
Starkey is a privately held, global hearing technology company headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. Owned by Bill Austin since 1967, Starkey is known for its innovative design, development and distribution of comprehensive digital hearing systems. Led today by President and CEO Brandon Sawalich, Starkey has more than 5,000 employees, operates 28 facilities and does business in more than 100 markets worldwide. Learn more at starkey.com.