Annette Brüls

A senior executive with more than 20 years experience in the medical device industry, Annette Brüls, currently serves as CEO of Medela, joining the company in May 2018. Previously, she held a number of global leadership positions in several multinational companies, most recently as President of Diabetes Service & Solutions at Medtronic. In 2021, Annette was elected to the Board of Directors of Coloplast A/S and their Renumeration and Nomination Committee.

Medela is the #1 breast pump brand1 and one of the leading companies in medical vacuum technologies respected and trusted by doctors and healthcare professionals from around the world. In keeping with the company’s mission to turn science into care, nurturing health for generations Medela strives to improve health and well-being through the pursuit of knowledge and the development of innovative products and services, empowering mothers, babies and patients to live their lives to the fullest.

Annette has a lifelong fascination with the roles that innovation and technology play in improving our lives. This also explains her choice of studies: Annette holds a Bachelor and Master of Science in Electrical Engineering with great honours from the University of Liège. Furthermore, Annette is passionate about continuous innovation to advance technology and develop new products, services and education, all of which to improve our customers' and patients’ quality of life.

As a woman leader of an organisation committed to women’s health, and a mother and wife who has pursued career growth alongside motherhood responsibilities, Annette is personally dedicated to improving the opportunities available to mothers in the workplace. Under Annette’s leadership, Medela is committed to playing an active role to help all moms successfully return to work, allow for work-life balance, and pursue professional growth as they choose, equally for our customers and employees.

A champion for diversity, equity and inclusion, Annette is a passionate advocate for DE&I and aims to inspire her environment to thrive in their workplace and personal lives to through her presence on social media, internal TED talks, public speaking and editorials.

A Belgium native, Annette has lived in many countries throughout her life, and now calls Switzerland her home. She speaks fluent German, English, French and Dutch. In her spare time she likes to travel with her family and learn about new people and cultures.