LEADING OFF

TIPS, TRENDS & NEWS YOU CAN USE

ESSILOR TO PURCHASE VISION SOURCE

Essilor has entered into a definitive agreement with Vision Source to purchase the optometric alliance. Now beginning the regulatory approval process, the acquisition is expected to close in the next “one or two months,” says Vision Source President and CEO Jim Greenwood. The value of the agreement was not disclosed.

“This acquisition will serve to build upon a successful long-term relationship that Essilor has enjoyed with independent optometrists since coming to the United States decades ago,” says Vision Source’s founder and Executive Chairman Glenn Ellisor, O.D. (Dr. Ellisor is interviewed in this month’s O.D. Scene.)

Under the purchase agreement, Vision Source will be a wholly owned subsidiary of Essilor and continue to be overseen by its current leadership team.

“We believe in the current Vision Source leadership and are committed to their strategy of supporting independent eye care professionals in providing improved patient outcomes,” says Essilor’s President Eric Leonard. “We believe, working together, Essilor and Vision Source will enhance independent optometry by reducing the complexity and risk associated with managing the practice of the future.”

Mr. Greenwood echoes Mr. Leonard’s comments. “The brand does not change. It’s business as usual. The other vendors will continue to be important, and this should help them because the goal is to grow at a more rapid pace.”

Howard Purcell, O.D., F.A.A.O., Essilor’s Senior Vice President, Customer Development Group, added that through time collaborative efforts will be made to make the most of the relationship. “We win when independent optometry is strong and this is one of the many ways . . . that we can support independent optometry,” says Dr. Purcell.

Dr. Purcell added that the acquisition will not affect relationships with other optometric alliances. ■

BRIEN HOLDEN, HUMANITARIAN, RESEARCHER, INVENTOR AND EDUCATOR

As we go to press, Professor Brien Holden, O.A.M., scientist, humanitarian, speaker, editor, researcher, inventor, educator and founder and C.E.O. of the Brien Holden Vision Institute, has died unexpectedly. He was arguably the Benjamin Franklin of eye care, a Renaissance man whose vast contributions touched so many different areas.

“On behalf of the American Optometric Association, I wish to extend the condolences of the extended optometric family to the members of the family of Professor Brien Holden on his passing in Sydney, Australia,” says Steven A. Loomis, O.D., AOA president. “His work has had a substantial and lasting impact upon millions around the world. His contagious enthusiasm and optimism will be missed both professionally and personally.”

Beginnings/academia

Shortly after completing his optometry education at Melbourne University in 1964, Professor Holden, accompanied by his wife, traveled by boat to the United Kingdom and came face to face with poverty at port stops, such as Sri Lanka, along the way. This experience led to a life dedicated to helping those less fortunate through vision care. In fact, he raised more than $1.3 billion in education, research and humanitarian funds.

In 1971, after acquiring a Ph.D. in corneal and contact lens research at the City University of London, professor Holden accepted a position with the University of New South Wales as lecturer and in 2001 became Scientia Professor at the University’s School of Optometry and Vision Science.

In addition, he was a visiting professor at universities throughout the world. Further, he wrote more than 220 book chapters and refereed 380 abstracts of international academic journals.

Organizations/inventions

Professor Holden and colleagues founded a number of organizations, including The Cornea and Contact Lens Research Unit (1976), the International Association of Contact Lens Educators (1979), the Institute for Eye Research (1985), the Asia Pacific Contact Lens Education Programme (1990) and The Cooperative Research Centre for Eye Research and Technology (1991). In 1998, he cofounded the International Centre for Eyecare Education (ICEE), now called Brien Holden Vision Institute, Public Health. Described as an enterprise, the organization focuses on creating solutions for “vision care, eye health and eliminating vision impairment and avoidable blindness” to decrease poverty.

Professor Holden was the co-developer of silicone hydrogel contact lenses. He collaborated on an accommodating gel that may help those who have cataract and presbyopia, and he worked on an ophthalmic lens that slows myopia progression in children.

Recognition

Professor Holden received more than 30 awards from organizations, including the inaugural Optometry Giving Sight Humanitarian Award, and, most recently, the AAO’s Charles F. Prentice Medal in 2014.

“The sudden passing of Academy Fellow Dr. Brien Holden is a tremendous loss for global optometry. His passion for research led to the development and continued accomplishments of the influential Brien Holden Vision Institute,” says AAO President Brett G. Bence, O.D., F.A.A.O. “His leadership and advocacy as a humanitarian for worldwide access to vision correction will continue unabated for generations to come. We mourn his loss, yet celebrate his amazing influence on international optometry and vision care.” ■

Optometric Management will include expanded coverage of the life of Professor Holden next month in our “O.D. Scene” section.

ALCON ANNOUNCES CHANGE IN NORTH AMERICAN LEADERSHIP

Alcon recently announced the company has appointed Sergio Duplan as Region President, Alcon North America. Mr. Duplan succeeds Robert Warner, who assumes the new Alcon executive committee role as Global Franchise Head, Alcon Vision Care.

A well-known leader in the eye care industry with more than two decades of experience at Alcon, Mr. Warner has led Alcon US since 2012. Prior to that role, he served as Region President, Alcon Latin America and the Caribbean. In his role as Global Franchise Head, Mr. Warner will lead Alcon’s global Vision Care business. He will be responsible for strategy, marketing, portfolio development, commercial execution and chairing the global franchise team.

Mr. Duplan has held several leadership roles within Novartis Pharmaceuticals before joining Alcon in 2012. He most recently served as Region President, Alcon Latin America and Canada. Mr. Duplan earned a bachelor’s degree from Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico and a master’s degree in business administration from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. ■

VISION EXPO WEST KEYNOTE SERIES CENTERS ON PRACTICE MANAGEMENT

Vision Expo West 2015, held September 16 to 19 at the Sands Expo & Convention Center, in Las Vegas, will provide a keynote series that focuses exclusively on practice management.

“Vision Expo education continues to grow and evolve alongside the changing interests and demands of the eye care profession, which is increasingly focused on the practical elements of providing comprehensive vision care while running a successful business,” explains Mark Dunbar, O.D., F.A.A.O., co-chair of Vision Expo’s conference advisory board.

Specifically, the series will afford retail strategies to encourage customer engagement and loyalty, customer service best practices, presented by the Ritz-Carlton’s Leadership Center, a State of the Eye Care Industry address given by Essilor of America’s Howard Purcell, O.D., F.A.A.O., Luxottica’s Holly Rush and Bausch + Lomb’s Rob Meyering and Alcon’s Air Optix Colors Education Salon, which provides a free 90-minute certification program.

Other business tracks: Dispensing essentials for today’s hybrid optician and a retail and practice management track, the latter of which is supported by OM. ■