Staefa, Switzerland

Global Head of Intellectual Property

Sonova is a global leader in innovative hearing care solutions, dedicated to improving lives through technology. Intellectual Property is a critical strategic asset that underpins our innovation leadership, competitive differentiation, and long-term business success.

We are seeking a Global Head of Intellectual Property to lead Sonova's global intellectual property strategy and governance framework. This is a highly visible enterprise leadership role operating at the intersection of Legal, R&D, innovation, and business strategy.

The execuitve will serve as the enterprise owner of IP strategy, risk management, enforcement, licensing strategy, and governance across both hard and soft IP. Working in close partnership with R&D leadership, the leader will ensure that intellectual property is fully integrated into technology planning, innovation pipelines, product roadmaps, and business decision-making.

The successful candidate will lead a global IP organization through experienced team leaders and external partners while serving as a trusted advisor to executive leadership on matters that impact innovation, competitive positioning, and enterprise value creation.

Key Responsibilities

Enterprise IP Strategy & Leadership

• Define, develop, and continuously evolve Sonova's global intellectual property strategy, ensuring alignment with corporate objectives, innovation priorities, and market positioning.
• Serve as the principal advisor to the General Counsel, Executive Committee members, R&D leadership, and senior business leaders on intellectual property matters.
• Own enterprise-wide IP governance, risk management, and strategic decision-making across patents, trade secrets, trademarks, copyrights, and related intellectual property assets.
• Lead and develop senior IP professionals while fostering a business-oriented and strategically focused IP culture.
• Shape the future evolution of Sonova's IP function, capabilities, operating model, and external partnerships.

Strategic Partnership with R&D

• Serve as the primary strategic interface between the Legal and R&D organizations on all intellectual property matters.
• Ensure IP strategy is embedded throughout innovation processes, technology planning, product development, and long-term technology roadmaps.
• Maintain a permanent strategic presence within innovation planning and technology governance forums to identify and protect key innovations at the earliest stages of development.
• Guide strategic decisions concerning patents, trade secrets, design rights, publication strategies, open innovation initiatives, and alternative protection mechanisms.
• Partner closely with R&D leadership to ensure effective operation of invention harvesting processes, IP stage-gates, freedom-to-operate reviews, and technical risk assessments.

Portfolio Strategy & Investment Governance

• Establish the strategic direction for Sonova's global patent and design portfolio.
• Ensure portfolio investments are aligned with business priorities, technology trends, and competitive differentiation objectives.
• Oversee portfolio development, prosecution strategy, maintenance decisions, and lifecycle management through experienced internal teams and external counsel.
• Regularly assess portfolio strength, geographic coverage, white-space opportunities, competitive positioning, and emerging risks.
• Drive a disciplined approach to maximizing portfolio value and return on investment.

Competitive Intelligence & Strategic Risk Assessment

• Direct Sonova's IP-based competitive intelligence strategy, ensuring alignment with enterprise priorities and technology objectives.
• Oversee strategic freedom-to-operate, clearance, and risk management frameworks across the organization.
• Translate complex competitive IP landscapes into actionable strategic recommendations for executive leadership.
• Monitor significant industry, regulatory, technological, and competitive developments impacting Sonova's innovation strategy.
• Identify opportunities for portfolio strengthening, strategic acquisitions, partnerships, licensing opportunities, and risk mitigation.

Licensing, Partnerships & Value Creation

• Lead the company's strategy for licensing, cross-licensing, technology partnerships, and other IP-based value creation initiatives.
• Support strategic commercial negotiations where intellectual property is a key business asset.
• Provide strategic IP leadership in M&A transactions, partnerships, collaborations, and technology investments.
• Evaluate opportunities to leverage Sonova's intellectual property portfolio as a competitive and commercial advantage.

Disputes, Enforcement & Litigation Strategy

• Define and direct Sonova's global strategy for IP enforcement, defense, and dispute resolution.
• Oversee significant patent, trademark, copyright, advertising, and technology-related disputes worldwide.
• Manage external counsel and expert advisors supporting contentious IP matters.
• Advise executive leadership on risk exposure, litigation strategy, settlement considerations, and business impacts.
• Ensure alignment between litigation strategy, portfolio development, and broader business objectives.

Soft IP Governance & Brand Protection

• Oversee enterprise management of trademarks, copyrights, brand protection, marketing claims, and related intellectual property matters.
• Ensure effective collaboration between Legal, Marketing, and Commercial functions to protect and enhance Sonova's brand assets.
• Establish frameworks that enable early review, clearance, and protection of brand and product naming initiatives.
• Support the development and protection of valuable intangible assets across the business.

Governance & Enterprise Risk Management

• Establish and maintain robust IP governance frameworks, policies, processes, and decision-making standards.
• Chair or actively participate in cross-functional governance forums responsible for intellectual property strategy, prioritization, and resource alignment.
• Ensure consistent and proactive management of IP-related risks across jurisdictions and business functions.
• Promote enterprise-wide awareness of intellectual property as a strategic business asset.
• Ensure effective utilization of external counsel, service providers, and supporting resources.

More about you:

• Advanced degree (JD, PhD, LLM, MSc Engineering, or equivalent) in a legal, scientific, engineering, or technical discipline.
• 15+ years of progressive intellectual property experience with significant exposure to patent strategy and counseling.
• Demonstrated success operating at a senior strategic level and influencing executive leadership and R&D organizations.
• Deep understanding of global patent systems and broader intellectual property frameworks.
• Experience leading IP organizations through senior professionals and external partners.
• Strong commercial orientation with the ability to balance legal, technical, business, and innovation considerations.
• Proven experience managing complex cross-functional stakeholder environments.

Preferred previous experience

• Experience within a multinational technology, healthcare, medical device, electronics, software, or innovation-driven organization.
• Significant experience in patent litigation, enforcement, oppositions, or dispute management in the US and Europe.
• Demonstrated success supporting strategic licensing, cross-licensing, technology transactions, collaborations, or M&A activities.
• Familiarity with U.S., European, and Asian intellectual property systems and regulatory environments.
• Experience partnering closely with engineering and R&D organizations in highly innovative environments.

Why Join Sonova

This is a rare opportunity to shape the intellectual property strategy of a global innovation leader operating at the intersection of healthcare and technology.

You will have direct influence on innovation strategy, technology direction, competitive positioning, and enterprise value creation while partnering closely with world-class R&D, legal, and business leaders. The role offers exceptional visibility, meaningful impact, and the opportunity to help define the future of intellectual property at Sonova.