Blog

November 13, 2020November 18, 2020

CooperVision Specialty EyeCare Announces Regional Leaders

CooperVision Specialty EyeCare announced the creation of a regional business structure to more closely integrate its portfolio of Paragon, Blanchard, and Procornea specialty contact lens brands and to be closer to customers. In conjunction, it has named three executives to regional leadership roles, further strengthening support for the growing number of eye care professionals worldwide who fit specialty contact lenses.

Arthur Kung is appointed Head of CooperVision Specialty EyeCare China, based in Shanghai.

Alex Lamse becomes Head of CooperVision Specialty EyeCare EMEA, based in Eerbeek, Netherlands. He led Procornea’s expansion in China and continued as managing director following its acquisition by CooperVision.

David Raimondo becomes Head of CooperVision Specialty EyeCare Americas, based in Phoenix, Ariz. He joined CooperVision in 2013 and most recently led the company’s Latin America region.

In conjunction, two highly respected industry veterans have moved into part-time roles with the company. Both will continue to lend their globally recognized expertise to the company while transitioning over the next year toward retirement:

Jean Blanchard has shifted from running operations at his eponymous company to leading development and evolution of CooperVision Specialty EyeCare lenses for irregular cornea, building on his experience with Onefit^™ and other keratoconus-focused products.
Rich Jeffries, who formerly led the Paragon business, is now working alongside the recently acquired GP Specialists team as part of their CooperVision Specialty EyeCare onboarding, while also developing Asia-Pacific markets outside of China.

GP Specialists, which became part of the company in August 2020 as reported by Optik NOW, remains an aligned yet separately-managed business within CooperVision Specialty EyeCare.

Click HERE for the full press release.

November 13, 2020November 13, 2020

OGS Awards $50,000 in COVID Relief Funds to 12 North American Charities

In an effort to support North American organizations and to further enhance their national presence, Optometry Giving Sight (OGS) awarded 12 organizations with grants up to $5,000. The funding will support their work in providing eye exams and glasses to individuals in underrepresented communities, special project funding to build sustainable vision care efforts, and opportunities to provide diversity and inclusion training to staff, volunteers and board members.

“I am grateful that we were able to provide funding to such a diverse group of worthwhile organizations who are doing critical work within their communities,” says Anne Marie Hand, Executive Director of OGS who started in June. “It was a quick turnaround and I’m so appreciative that my team and our Board of Directors supported this endeavor,” she added.

The Vision Institute of Canada plans on using their award to purchase new equipment. “The Pachymeter helps me diagnose glaucoma in its earlier stages to facilitate treatment and reduce both vision impairment and low vision. It is a key diagnostic tool I always take with me when I make on-site visits to my patients in long-term care homes,” says Dr. Lois Calder, Clinic Director.

The three Canadian grant recipients are:

Canadian National Institute for the Blind
Downtown Eastside Eye Clinic
Vision Institute of Canada

Click HERE for the full press release.

November 12, 2020November 12, 2020

Transitions® XTRActive® Polarized™ Lenses to Roll Out in Canada in Q1 of 2021

Transitions Optical has announced that Transitions^® XTRActive^® Polarized^™ lenses will begin rolling out in the U.S. and Canada in the first quarter of 2021. The product will expand the Transitions^® XTRActive^® product line with the additional benefit of polarization. Transitions XTRActive Polarizedlenses start clear indoors, darken in the car, and achieve extra darkness and polarize outdoors in the sun.

“This is a key milestone for the company. Building on our experience in polarization technology, we have now engineered the world’s only and best ever clear to extra dark photochromic polarized lens,” said Brian O’Neill, Ph.D, global vice president, Innovation, Technology & Operations, Transitions Optical.

Transitions XTRActive Polarized lenses use a breakthrough, exclusive, multi-layer matrix which hosts new Transitions XTRActive broad-spectrum dyes for more darkness with new ultra-fast dichroic dyes that selectively absorb light waves in one direction for polarization. Outside, Transitions XTRActive Polarized lenses achieve a polarization efficiency of up to 90 percent, which is similar to polarized sunglasses. The lenses fadeback up to 2 times faster than Transitions^®Vantage^®lenses.

Transitions XTRActive Polarized lenses will begin rolling out in the U.S. and Canada in the first quarter of 2021. They will be available in iconic gray with additional details on the timing of availability across materials and designs to be provided by the lens manufacturer partners of Transitions Optical.

Click HERE for the full press release.

November 12, 2020November 12, 2020

Vision Show Becomes My Vision Show; Continues to Expand with Springboard Summit

After several successful showings, Vision Show returns to its original title, My Vision Show, to help avoid being confused for another, non-virtual, event with a similar name.

My Vision Show will run its winter showcase, named Springboard Summit, from Dec 4, 5, and 6, 2020. The theme has been designed specifically to help eye care and optical professionals decompress, shop, and prepare for a strong start for the new year.

“After reviewing many requests for new options which help a private practice to thrive outside of traditional lab and lens models, My Vision Show is focusing on a core theme: How to survive “out of the box.” We will focus on 3 profitable operating models which enable independent eye care businesses to pivot and take complete control of their business,” says My Vision Show founder Charlene Nichols.

The show will feature several new participants including Coco Song, Dry Eye Doctor, and My Eye Care Team. The show will also feature an interprofessional summit of optical industry professionals including optometrists, opticians, marketers, and more. In addition to interprofessional discussions, participants will be able to enjoy mini-courses and tools to help jumpstart their own practices.

The show will also award a Product of the Year to a new, innovative product that has been released, or patented in 2020 as well as a Most Valuable Participant Award to one chosen eye care professional who is employed or owns an independent eye care or optical practice and who has consistently been engaged in prior shows.

Returning Favorites: While My Vision Show is expanding, it will also feature prior favorites including Le Kevin, ION Labs, and Optical Near Me.

Likewise, the show will also feature the Eyewear Artwalk. While Eyewear Artwalk has had several live exhibits in 2020, they have returned to My Vision Show for a virtual exhibit to make the show more accessible to individuals who are unable to travel due to COVID-19 concerns.

Click HERE for the full press release.

November 12, 2020November 10, 2020

Essilor and FIA Renew and Deepen Partnership to Lead Global Change on Vision and Safe Mobility

Jean Todt, President of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) and the United Nations Secretary General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety, and Paul du Saillant, CEO of Essilor International, recently met at the FIA headquarters in Paris to continue driving together a global change on the importance of vision for safe mobility.

The meeting between the two leaders served as a springboard to further accelerate the existing collaboration by putting a focus on projects aimed to deliver visual equipment, in addition to rolling out new advocacy initiatives. Check out the video below.

Commenting on the vast potential ahead for this partnership, Paul du Saillant said: “By leveraging our expertise, innovation, brands, and inclusive business program, we are helping drivers, bikers, cyclists and pedestrians to enjoy the road safely thanks to good vision. By doing so, Essilor further strengthens its commitment to the FIA and the United Nations Road Safety Fund.”

Essilor and the FIA plan to:
● Provide FIA clubs with preferential access to adequate vision care solutions for their members through offline and online offers
● Collaborate in the distribution of glasses to road users in need, in developing countries by involving national FIA clubs
● Establish a collaboration between FIA and Essilor’s instruments division to define, improve and promote appropriate eye exams for drivers
● Examine the possibility of Essilor’s involvement in FIA championships
● Explore a further collaboration by leveraging the Helmet Industry Working Group outputs.

Click HERE for the full press release.