Meet New VP Commercial Stephan Gleissner

December 20, 2023

The Mimi team is pleased to introduce our new VP Commercial, Stephan Gleissner. Stephan brings a wealth of strategic, operational and commercial expertise that will help to shape the future of commercial endeavors at Mimi.

Can you share some key highlights from your career so far and how it led you to your current role at Mimi?

I started my career back in consulting, mainly working on transformations, business model changes as well as strategic and operational planning, with a focus in the consumer goods and electronics industries. After my consulting career, I took over commercial leadership roles in grown-up and start-up companies in consumer goods, defining commercial strategies, executing operational business tactics and building up partnerships to enable further growth.

What inspired you to pursue a career in the field of personalization audio technology?

As a next step in my career, I was looking to work for a company with a product offering that provides a real purpose for people’s everyday lives. In the field of sound personalization, and especially with Mimi, I really love the mix of bringing new technology to the consumer electronics industry and at the same time adding benefits to people’s hearing health.

Mimi is known for its innovative approach to personalized audio experiences. How do you envision this technology positively impacting people's daily lives and communication?

Around-the-clock audio consumption is the new normal in our daily lives. On average, people spend 8 hours a day consuming digital audio content, including video calls, listening to music and podcasts, and streaming videos using consumer technology. Everybody hears differently and the demand for customized and safe listening experiences is growing. Mimi can positively impact people’s daily lives with a number of health benefits. Mimi aims to create more awareness about the importance of hearing health, and by understanding a person’s hearing ability with a short hearing test, Mimi can provide a personalized audio experience that restores lost details and makes the sound clearer, which helps to prevent hearing loss from increased media consumption at high volume levels. Alongside these health benefits, individuals can benefit from sound personalized to them, and enjoy richer and more immersive audio.

What excites you the most about being part of the Mimi team, and how do you see your role contributing to the company's mission of making hearing health technologies accessible to everyone?

I am really excited about the innovative and science-backed technology, which you can clearly experience working at Mimi on a daily basis by talking with and working with the various teams across the business. My role mainly contributes to further expansions with our current clients, and building new collaborations with direct clients and ecosystem partners. This will help to give more users across the globe access to Mimi’s technology and the associated benefits, ultimately leading to better hearing health and enhanced listening experiences for more people.

Have you personally used any Mimi-enabled partner products, and if so, could you share your personal experience with them?

Yes, I am using Nothing Ear (2) earbuds on a day-to-day basis. Looking at the earbuds I am really impressed by the look and feel and really love the transparent design. The sound of the earbuds is really impressive, listening to music but also making calls. Especially in combination with Mimi’s sound personalization, the sound experience and music details are outstanding, also compared to other devices I used in the past.

What's one thing you hope to achieve or experience in your role at Mimi in the next year?

Tough to pick just one thing in the next 12 months, as I see so many exciting opportunities to tackle during the next year at Mimi. If I had to choose one main goal, it would be to increase the number of Mimi-enabled partner devices, to bring the benefits of Mimi to more people.

What's a book, podcast, or movie that has had a significant impact on your life or career?

The Big Five for Life from John Strelecky. Love the book, as it helped me to focus on the most important things for my personal and professional life.

Outside of work, what are some of your hobbies or passions that keep you busy and fulfilled?

Outside work, you will probably find me at some playground in Berlin, enjoying some quality time with my little boy or doing some kind of sports, mainly running in preparation for my next marathon or exploring Berlin’s surroundings on my road bike.