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Bausch + Lomb has appointed Brent Saunders as chief executive officer and chair of the company’s board of directors, replacing Joseph C. Papa. Having previously served as CEO of Bausch + Lomb from 2010 to 2013, Saunders brings more than 25 years of health care leadership experience to the role.

Michael Kelly has joined Coburn Technologies as its new digital marketing and trade show specialist. Most recently, Kelly served as the multimedia designer and global corporate marketing specialist at Mirion Technologies Inc.

Craig Drury has joined First Insight as vice president of sales. Most recently, Drury was vice president of customer development at VisionWeb, where he was responsible for managing the company’s practice management software, customer support, and software implementation teams.

◄ IOT has promoted Carolina Gago from general manger, a position she held for four years, to chief operating officer. Gago has almost two decades of experience in the optical industry.

Kathryn Chambers has been appointed as senior brand and marketing manager of L’Amy America, bringing experience from her time at Timex as the global brand manager for Guess Watches.

Mykita has announced Michael Cole as the general manager of Mykita North America. Most recently, Cole served as the vice president of merchandise planning and allocation at Luxury Optical Holdings.

◄ Paolo Bizzotto has been named as senior vice president of sales of Safilo’s North America independent channel. Throughout his decade-long career with the company, Bizzotto has held a series of brand management and sales positions of increasing responsibility.

◄ VSP Vision’s chief diversity officer, Marvin Davenport, has been recognized as one of the 2023 Top 100 Diversity Officers by DiversityFIRST. Davenport is the only honoree selected from the eyecare industry. Prior to becoming VSP Vision’s first diversity officer, Davenport served as the head of inclusion and diversity programs for Amazon Web Services. He is also a global competence certified practitioner and a cultural orientations approach certified practitioner.

Business Updates

Since the program’s launch in early 2022, the American Optometric Association’s (AOA) Business Card has reimbursed cardholders more than $143,000 in membership dues. As a sign-up bonus, AOA members will have their dues of $972 reimbursed when they spend $15,000 or more in the first four months, and the card is available to any business entity owned by an AOA member regardless of that business’s affiliation with optometry.

Hoya Vision Care and Nidek Co. Ltd. have partnered to provide eyecare professionals with an expansive portfolio of optical products for a full-service approach to patient care. Hoya’s ECP partners can now access Nidek’s instruments, products, and services through local distributors.

Xenon-VR has changed its name to Xenon Ophthalmics Inc., reflecting its shift away from virtual reality (VR) technology as its primary offering to open partnership opportunities with other VR companies and leveraging its patented proprietary medical-grade technology.