Sonova : announces appointment of Group Vice President Retail

Lukas Braunschweiler, CEO of Sonova, says: 'Our recent acquisition of AudioNova underpins the increasing importance of our global retail business, which allows us to get closer to our customers by providing best-in-class audiological services. We are very pleased that with Mr. Fond we were able to win an internationally experienced manager. His strong track-record in the optical retail industry, where he was responsible for managing a fast growing store network, will be extremely valuable in further advancing our retail strategy and leading the successful integration of AudioNova.'

Mr. Fond (born in 1966, French citizen) joins Sonova from GrandVision, a global leader in optical retail, which operates through over 6,000 stores in 44 different countries, generating sales of over EUR 3.2 billion in 2015. Most recently, he held the role of President Latin America and at the same time supported the expansion in Asia and the United States. In addition, he was a member of the Executive Board of GrandVision. During his tenure, the business expanded rapidly supported by both network expansion and acquisitions, providing him with extensive experience in managing integration activities and optimizing business processes across all functional areas. Prior to joining GrandVision he has held various roles of increasing responsibility at Pearle, Bata and FNAC. Mr. Fond received an Executive Master of Business Administration from IMD-Switzerland and has a Law degree from Université Paris X Nanterre, France.

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