Klaus Schönenberger
Director | Switzerland | EssentialTech Center
Klaus Schönenberger obtained a PhD from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland. After a post-doctoral research assignment at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (USA), he joined the medical devices industry. During 10 years, he held various leading positions as director and global vice-president of R&D. In his last position, he was the global vice-president of Research and Technology at DJO Inc. (Vista, California), a Medical device company with annual revenue of $1bn. In 2009, he left the industry to create the EssentialMed foundation, with the goal to develop appropriate medical devices for developing countries. In 2011, he joined EPFL to initiate and lead the EssentialTech programme, which aims to fight poverty and vulnerability, through the development of innovative technologies combined with sustainable business models. In December 2019, EPFL’s presidency decided to transform the programme into a centre. Dr Schönenberger currently leads EPFL’s EssentialTech centre as its Director.
