NEW YORK--Key executives in corporate optometry gathered here last month to listen to a series of reports from industry experts and meet to discuss issues facing ODs that affiliate with chains.
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| At the Corporate Optometry meeting: Bob Stein, National Vision; Karen Gough, CIBA Vision; Britt Clark, National Vision; and Julie King and David Owens, Wal-Mart Optical. |
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| Attending the Corporate Optometry Professional Advisory Panel are Pete Kehoe, OD, AOA Board of Trustees; Dwight Akerman, OD, CIBA Vision; Florian Safner, OD, Luxottica Retail; and Jeff Smith, OD, For Eyes Optical. |
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| Attendees and presenters gathered for the Corporate Optometry Professional Advisory Panel: Rick Weisbarth, OD, CIBA Vision; Con Ward and Russ Tolar, Eye Care Centers of America; Gary Bert and Rod Tahran, OD, Essilor of America and Shirley Wanamaker, Davis Vision. |
Marge Axelrad, senior vice president and editorial director of Jobson Optical Group, started the presentations with an overview of the retail optical market. Following Axelrad’s presentation, Rod Tahran, OD, vice president, Essilor of America, extolled the emerging technology of digital surfacing saying, “the future of progressive lens innovation will rely less on breakthrough design innovation, and more on prescription process improvements.”
Other topics included “Soft Lens Dispensing By Chain Optical vs. Private Practice Locations” by George Pastrana, CIBA Vision brand marketing director, and an update on how legislative confrontations are intensifying was given by Peter Kehoe, OD, of the American Optometric Association board of trustees. Joe Wende, OD, of Davis Vision asked, “Will New York’s Prescription Law Move Westward?” and Brian Daniels, director of customer marketing, CIBA Vision, offered information on “The Four Types of Contact Lens Practitioners and How Corporate and Private Practitioners Compare.” The session ended with a special presentation, “Trends in Marketing to Today’s Consumer,” by Domenico Vitale, head of brand strategy, Kirshenbaum Bond and Partners.
The COR professional advisory group’s meetings are made possible through a co-sponsorship of CIBA Vision and Essilor. --Christie Walker
