Dr Zakis has over 25 years of hearing aid R&D experience in academia and industry. His PhD on trainable hearing aids included some of the first studies to evaluate the NAL-NL1 prescription, and the findings were part of the evidence base used to develop the NAL-NL2 prescription. He has created various types of noise-reduction algorithm and their fitting recommendations, and has led a clinical trial of novel self-fitting software in a live teleaudiology business. Dr Zakis is currently a Principal Research Engineer at the National Acoustic Laboratories and is project leader for the NAL-NL3 Fitting System.

Kate holds a Doctor of Audiology degree from Gallaudet University in Washington, DC.  She started with GN in 2006 at GN Hearing North America and joined the GN Northwest Europe team in 2020. Kate has previously worked in various clinical settings including fast-paced hospital clinics with neuro-otology specialists, non-profit speech and hearing centres caring for patients of all ages, and educational audiology settings. She is skilled in using wireless hearing solutions and assistive listening devices for personal and educational use, including bimodal use with cochlear implants, bone-anchored hearing solutions.

Rachel leads sales training and enablement initiatives that equip sales leadership and field teams to effectively execute commercial strategy with confidence and consistency. She partners closely with cross-functional groups to drive alignment, elevate capabilities, and support sustained commercial performance. Rachel earned her Doctorate in Audiology from Auburn University and, over the past 9 years, has held key roles at GN ReSound, including Training & Development Manager and Field Training Audiologist. She resides in Atlanta, GA, and enjoys traveling, exploring local cuisine, and connecting with new people.

Hannah is a licensed Audiologist in the state of Colorado. She worked in a variety of clinical settings for 10 years before starting her career with GN in 2022 as a Field Training Audiologist. She recently moved into the role of Territory Sales Manager at GN. She enjoys using her clinical experience working with difficult patient populations to help train clinicians on best practices and how to optimize hearing aid technology. Most recently she has worked closely with Dr. Laurel Christensen, Chief Audiology Officer at GN, to develop clinician trainings on the correlation between hearing loss and cognitive impairment, as well as recommendations and best practices for fitting patients with cognitive impairment.

A journalist for 30 years, Phil has worked primarily in local newsrooms and made regular appearances on radio stations. As someone with a severe hearing loss, he became an Auracast Evangelist after discovering the technology when upgrading his hearing aids (initially Starkey, currently ReSound Vivia). He sees journalism as a ‘mission to explain’ and has a desire to help others discover the life-changing properties of Auracast Bluetooth. This led to the launch of Aurahear.co.uk, a website dedicated to news, reviews, interviews, and features about Auracast.

He has travelled the UK and Europe to visit installations in theatres, railway stations and St Paul’s Cathedral, taken part in workshops and tech events, and worked with major hearing aid manufacturers, charities and Auracast equipment providers. Away from Aurahear, Phil has a portfolio career that includes working in PR, and curating a what's on website for Reading, England called Cheeselogs.co.uk.

Heather has a huge amount of audiology experience in both the private and public sectors, having worked in the industry for an unbelievable 30 years. A qualified Audiologist, Heather first trained with the NHS working in both adult and paediatric audiology, before moving into the manufacturing sector. Heather has worked for GN for over 20 years in a number of roles across the organisation and is now our Head of Key Accounts for North Europe.

Miguel’s passion for music led him to study acoustic engineering at the Polytechnic University of Madrid. Countless hours at loud rock concerts sparked a new interest: how to protect our ears and prevent hearing loss. This curiosity took him to Aalborg University in Denmark, where he completed an M.Sc. in Electronic Engineering, focusing on how engineering can be used to help people hear better. In 2010, Miguel finished his Ph.D. on otoacoustic emissions and how they can be used to detect hearing loss at an early stage.

That same year, he joined GN Hearing in Denmark as an International Audiologist and Product Trainer, supporting customers and colleagues in more than 80 countries with both audiological and technical expertise. Today, Miguel works as a Lead Research Scientist in Global Audiology, exploring how new technologies can improve the lives of people with hearing loss – and turning complex science into clear, engaging stories that everyone can relate to.

Bill is a Senior Investigator Scientist at Hearing Sciences - Scottish Section, University of Nottingham in the Glasgow Royal Infirmary, Glasgow, Scotland. He has devoted most of the last two-going-on-three decades of research, both in industry and academia, towards better understanding and alleviating hearing loss. His recent work has focused on evaluating new technologies in hearing assistance devices and understanding the perceptual relevance of technological benefits for patients.

Lene is an ENT specialist and Research & Innovation Lead at Aalborg University Hospital in Aalborg, Denmark. She holds a PhD from Aalborg University and an MBA from the University of Southern Denmark. Her research  and innovation activities focuses on digital transformation of hearing healthcare, including remote triage, AI-supported decision-making, and user-operated diagnostics.

She was a key contributor to the InHEAR project (Innovation of Hearing Care and Effect of Reform), where she co-developed and clinically validated a digital triage and referral model for hearing-care patients. This model is currently being implemented across all five Danish regions as part of a nationally prioritised hearing healthcare initiative.

Alongside her clinical work, she has been actively involved in national and cross-regional collaborations on digital hearing pathways and health system innovation.