Etac CEO Torben Helbo has taken over as interim president of the company’s North American sales and as interim president of Convaid.

In a Jan. 4 news announcement, Convaid said its president, Chris Braun, had left the company and that a search was underway to replace him.

Braun was named president of Convaid in 2008. He was appointed president of Etac North America in March 2016, after Etac acquired Convaid in December 2015.

At the time of his departure, Braun oversaw all of Etac’s North American brands: Convaid, Etac, Immedia, Molift and R82.

In a Jan. 4 phone conversation with Mobility Management, Helbo, who was present at Convaid’s Torrance, Calif., headquarters for the announcement of the management change, indicated he would be traveling between the United States and Europe for the time being. Etac is headquartered in Stockholm.

In the company’s news announcement, Helbo said, “We are thankful for the leadership Chris provided during his years at Convaid and developed it to where it is today. His expertise was critical in bringing it to its current juncture where new management can expand on the work Chris has done.”

In talking to Mobility Management, Helbo repeated that the company was in the midst of a search to replace Braun. He said he expected the search to take “some weeks before we’ve identified the right candidate.”

He also said the company was conducting an international search, and that familiarity with the complex rehab technology industry “would be beneficial,” but was not considered mandatory for the position.