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Using Technology to Impact Human Beings

Philipp Schneider

· Life Sciences

In this episode of The Aligned Leader, I interview Philipp Schneider, Director eSolutions Development at Sonova Group, on what excites him most in the journey of digital transformation.

Philipp shares why the human factor is so essential and why he’s so passionate about his industry where he gets to impact human beings are the core.

We also dive into some of the biggest lessons Philipp learned along the way of his journey.

Watch the full interview below.

About Philipp Schneider

Philipp Schneider, born in Switzerland, has been part of the worldwide software development community for over 25 years. He started his career at the University of Applied Sciences in Rapperswil, consulting companies how to use modern software analysis and design approaches to build systems that fit their client’s needs. He moved on to the Object Technology Center at Züehlke, where he continued to help clients in banking, public transport, insurance, telecommunications and other industries, to benefit from the quickly changing technology landscape.

To experience a new culture and working environment, he and his wife Daniela decided to move to the south of France in 2000. After having helped Amadeus to move part of their online business onto a modern technology stack, he followed a friend to join the vibrant startup scene at Sophie Antipolis. He joined the in-car integration team for BMW at a recently acquired startup that was targeting the automotive market with a full stack hardware and software platform.

Returning to Switzerland he knew that he wanted to work for a high-tech company with an opportunity to have an impact. Joining Sonova in 2004 he found exactly what he was looking for: A high tech innovation leader, committed to develop the best possible solutions for their customers. At Sonova he moved on from a technical role to a project leadership role and was appointed Director Fitting Software in 2005. In this role, he helped grow the team of software professionals and shaped the software development culture at Sonova. One of his key contributions was the introduction of user-centered design principles when taking on a complete redesign of Sonova’s medical software.

In 2014 he resigned from his role as Director Fitting Software to build up an interdisciplinary incubator to drive the digital transformation at Sonova. By defining a digital strategy in close collaboration with the retail business and leading the development effort to design, develop and test key touchpoints, he gained a deep understanding about dos and don’ts when trying to transform a business. Currently, he is using these learnings to help Sonova find the best way to combine the strengths of high-tech systems engineering with the fast innovation cycles of a changing business.