Meet Bill Austin

Starkey founder and CEO Bill Austin has always had a passion for helping others. Leaving medical school in the 1960s to focus on helping people hear better, he opened first a hearing aid distributorship, and then an all-make repair service, revolutionizing the industry with his drive to provide not only a better product, but better hearing.

Through the years, Austin’s philosophy gained momentum, and he began talking about it. In the early 1970s, he asked himself what his true purpose was. The answer came in a dream: the reason for his work was the gift of hearing…the vehicle that creates love and caring between people so they can learn the lessons of living.

That philosophy led to many of the innovations Starkey pioneered, and fueled the company’s growth through three decades. Today Austin’s drive to satisfy consumers first has made Starkey Labs the industry leader, while his expertise has made him the hearing aid dispenser to stars and dignitaries, sports figures and politicians, including president Ronald Reagan.

Yet corporate success and even recognition aren’t Austin’s primary motivations. Instead, it’s the smiles of hearing that make him smile—especially those of kids. Austin is a tireless advocate for hearing-impaired children and regularly makes missions overseas to personally administer to kids in such countries as El Salvador, Mexico, Panama and Ecuador, donating time, money and hearing aids. In the thousands of fittings he performs each year, he achieves his greatest success—measured in the smiles, hugs, and laughter of those he helps.