IT leads strategic innovation at Starkey Hearing Technologies

Veteran CIO charts new path to achieve strategic outcomes at leading hearing technology manufacturer

Headquartered in Minnesota, Starkey is a global hearing technology company known for its innovative design, development, and distribution of comprehensive digital hearing systems. With more than 5,000 employees and 29 facilities worldwide, Starkey is the largest privately-owned hearing aid manufacturer in the US.

Leading global IT at Starkey is CIO Eric Hanson, an accomplished IT executive who joined the company recently. Tasked with driving business enablement, innovation, and transformation, Hanson commented on his approach: “I was brought into Starkey to accomplish some key objectives. We had a really high-performance IT team, who were excellent at execution, but we wanted to make them influencers within the organization and drive innovation. The second objective was to rethink how we do technology and business at Starkey. This approach is to set Starkey up for the next ten years of success and look forward to how we can continue to optimize the organization.”

Hanson noted that his approach to expand the Information & Technology team’s role in innovation aligns with corporate goals: “One of the great things about this opportunity is that our CEO really has a vision for driving innovation in the organization. One of our mottos at Starkey is ‘Better today than yesterday, better tomorrow than today.’ That desire to continuously improve is really built into our culture.”

A trusted partner on the CIO journey

When Hanson joined Starkey, he brought a valuable resource with him – Info-Tech Research Group. Hanson had used Info-Tech’s services in the past and saw their value over other advisory organizations. He explained, “I started using Info-Tech three or four years ago because I really loved the practical application that we got from their services. I’ve used competitor services – what drew me to Info-Tech is that the information they provide is designed to be actionable.”

When Hanson was considering the next step in his IT leadership journey and then made the transition to his new role at Starkey, he turned to Info-Tech for guidance throughout the process. Hanson used Info-Tech’s "Follow Me" service to maintain access to critical research and advice via his executive counselor, a dedicated advisor with senior IT experience. “I was able to have candid conversations with Info-Tech’s top analysts and my executive counselor, who gave me direct feedback on what I needed to do to best present myself as a candidate. When I made the move to Starkey, Info-Tech’s ‘Follow Me’ service allowed me to really hit the ground running,” said Hanson.

“I started using Info-Tech three or four years ago because I really loved the practical application that we got from their services. I’ve used competitor services – what drew me to Info-Tech is that the information they provide is designed to be actionable.”
– Eric Hanson, CIO, Starkey Hearing Technologies

Starting off on the right foot at Starkey

Upon taking the role of CIO at Starkey, Hanson leveraged another Info-Tech service to help him navigate his new position. He noted that the early days in a leadership role are a crucial time, requiring the right balance of listening and taking action: “Info-Tech offers a great service, The First 100 Days as CIO. I was brought in to manage elements of transformation but also sustain that success and put the organization into a high-growth mode. The Info-Tech assets helped me to fine-tune my approach to the situation.”

One of Hanson’s key objectives at Starkey is to improve IT alignment with business strategy. Using high-impact diagnostic surveys from Info-Tech, he was able to gather and analyze internal data to help guide IT priorities. Hanson explained, “I leveraged three Info-Tech diagnostic surveys: the IT Staffing Assessment, the CIO Business Vision survey, and the IT Management and Governance diagnostic. The power you get from weaving together multiple Info-Tech diagnostic tools allows you to see how the staff feels about something, how your leadership team feels about it, and how the business feels about it, and then compare where you have gaps. This really helped us to drive our strategy in an appropriate direction.”

Laying the groundwork to support innovation

To achieve his objectives at Starkey, Hanson also needed to explore the capabilities that would enable IT to drive innovation and transformation. Using Info-Tech workshops on IT operating models and organizational design, Hanson and his team examined how to achieve their strategic goals. He commented, “One of the things I really like about the Info-Tech service is the workshop model. It allows you to take the research, the great insights, and make it something quite actionable – and do it with a group of people so that you all arrive at the same conclusions, together.”

Hanson added, “Going into the workshop on IT organizational design, we all thought we’d have a hard time agreeing on a model that made sense. Walking through it in a systematic, step-by-step way was instrumental to everyone arriving at the same place. We have come away with a design that’s going to help us to achieve our strategic outcomes.”

As Hanson looks to the future, he plans to use Info-Tech’s Price Benchmarking & Negotiation Service to find savings in Starkey’s vendor contracts. “I used Info-Tech’s Contract Review service at my last organization, and we found significant savings over a multiyear period on a key contract. At Starkey, we plan to invest in technology and modernize to improve our products and customer experience. We intend to use Info-Tech’s contract negotiation service to realize the best value for Starkey.”

“Going into the workshop on IT organizational design, we all thought we’d have a hard time agreeing on a model that made sense. Walking through it in a systematic, step-by-step way was instrumental to everyone arriving at the same place. We have come away with a design that’s going to help us to achieve our strategic outcomes.”
– Eric Hanson, CIO, Starkey Hearing Technologies

Leveraging the CIO role to seize opportunities

To gain further insight into managing IT transformation at Starkey, Hanson participates in Info-Tech’s Industry Roundtable Series, where he exchanges industry knowledge with a global network of IT leaders. The manufacturing industry has faced numerous challenges in recent years, from increased tariffs and supply chain issues to inflation and the rising cost of freight, all leading to margin erosion.

Hanson sees these challenges as opportunities: “Manufacturing CIOs today have an unprecedented opportunity to drive value. We get to look at the digital supply network holistically, all the way from design to sourcing, planning, manufacturing, and logistics, and figure out which digital capabilities will raise the business capabilities of the organization.”

Hanson reflected on the demands of the CIO role and his own journey as an IT executive: “It’s important to me that we have a service like Info-Tech. As CIOs, we are being counted on more and more to be business leaders. As a result of Info-Tech, I’m a better, data-driven, action-oriented CIO.”