The MaxWell Biosystems Management Team

From left to right: Marcel Suter, Kim Schwendener, Jan Müller, Marie E. Obien, Urs Frey

CEO: Urs Frey

Urs Frey is MaxWell Biosystems’ CEO, member of the founding team and serves as vice president on the company’s board of directors. Urs is running the company, is responsible for implementing the company strategy and driving business development. He is also heading financing and human resources. Urs earned his PhD in Electrical Engineering at ETH Zurich where he innovated the “switch-matrix” architecture now commonly used in microelectrode arrays. Following that, he moved to IBM Research, where he did a postdoc on mixed-signal circuit design. Later, Urs was heading an independent laboratory focusing on CMOS-based bioelectronics and biosensors at RIKEN, Japan. Recently, Urs completed a management training at the University of St. Gallen (Diploma of Advanced Studies, Leadership Development Program).

CTO: Jan Müller

Jan Müller is MaxWell Biosystems’ CTO and a member of the founding team and serves as the president of the company’s board of directors. Jan is responsible for software and hardware development, implementing the technology strategy, quality assurance and technical support. Jan is the expert in MEA technology and the inventor of our core 26,000 microelectrode array. Jan obtained his PhD from ETH Zurich (D-BSSE). He has an interdisciplinary background in computer science, electrical engineering, systems biology and computational neuroscience.

CCO: Marie Engelene Obien

Marie Obien is MaxWell Biosystems’ CCO and a member of the founding team and serves as a member of the company’s board of directors. Marie is responsible for sales, marketing, channel management, product management and customer care. Marie is a specialist in electrophysiology, with strong skills in MEAs and various techniques, including the gold-standard electrophysiology method–patch-clamp. She is the author of the currently most frequently cited review on MEAs. Marie participated in the Global Innovation Program workshop for business development in the Silicon Valley. Marie earned her PhD in Electrical Engineering from Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Japan, and obtained her training in neuroscience as a postdoctoral researcher at RIKEN, Japan.

VP Operations: Marcel Suter

Marcel Suter is the Vice Present Operations. Marcel is responsible for production, quality control, supply chain management, logistics, procurement and facility management. Marcel joined MaxWell Biosystems in 2020. Before that, he worked as project manager and later as VP Operations at Optotune, an optics company. As a member of Optotune Consumer Switzerland AG’s management team, he led their cost-efficient manufacturing of liquid lens products. Marcel has a strong expertise in establishing and improving processes for production ramp-up, and in ensuring high quality and on-time customer delivery. Marcel holds a Master in Micro- and Nanotechnology from University of Neuchâtel and a PhD in Micro- and Nanosystems at ETH Zurich. He gained a deeper knowledge in MEMS fabrication during his Master thesis at UC Berkeley.

Head of HR and Finance: Kim Schwendener

Kim Schwendener is MaxWell Biosystem’s Head of HR and Finance. She is responsible for all HR and Finance related topics and is a member of the executive team. Kim joined MaxWell Biosystems in 2022 and brings in more than 17 years of experience in finance, accounting, and HR. She has a profound and comprehensive knowledge of accounting, auditing, management reporting, budgeting, process implementation, human resources, and mobility. Kim holds a BS in Primary Education from Berne University of Teacher Education and a CAS in Strategic Finance from HWZ Zurich.

Meet the rest of the MaxWell Biosystems team