Two key execs are expanding their roles.
(Press Release) BRIDGEWATER, NJ – Global eye health company Bausch + Lomb has announced changes to its management team designed to improve operational efficiencies and foster potential synergies to drive growth.
“Bausch + Lomb is a critical component of our business, representing 50 percent of our entire company,” said Joseph C. Papa, chairman and CEO of Valeant. “These management changes exemplify how we’re continuing to align our resources to be more responsive to the needs of the marketplace by increasing our efficiencies and creating opportunities for potential synergies that will ultimately help drive the company’s overall growth.”
Joseph “Joe” Gordon, senior vice president and general manager, U.S. Consumer Healthcare, will expand his role to include the U.S. Vision Care business.
Tracy Valorie, senior vice president and general manager, U.S. Pharmaceuticals, will also expand her role to include the U.S. Surgical business. Gordon and Valorie will be responsible for ensuring their respective businesses achieve financial, marketing and sales goals and objectives while increasing operating performance. They will also oversee business development, R&D, customer education and training.
Gordon joined Bausch + Lomb in 2011 as the vice president of global sales and marketing for the company’s OTC portfolio, assuming responsibility for the entire Consumer Healthcare business in 2013.
During his tenure, he has led the Bausch + Lomb Consumer Healthcare business to achieve consecutive industry-leading growth for the past five years, boasting key OTC brands such as Soothe XP eye drops, currently the fastest growing OTC dry eye brand, and Biotrue multi-purpose solution, the No. 1 multi-purpose solution in households buying in 2016. Immediately prior to joining Bausch + Lomb, Gordon held multiple roles at Pfizer, including various assignments in sales, marketing and general management.
With almost three decades of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, Valorie has held a number of roles with increasing responsibility in discovery science, clinical development, early commercial assessment, marketing and strategic planning. Since joining Bausch + Lomb in 2013, she has led a team of cross-functional employees dedicated to the company’s Pharmaceutical product portfolio with an emphasis on identifying growth opportunities in the business. This includes adding novel technologies to the portfolio through exclusive licensing agreements with EyeGate Pharmaceuticals and expanding the portfolio’s glaucoma franchise with the company’s current glaucoma candidate, latanoprostene bunod. Prior to joining Bausch + Lomb, Valorie was the commercial lead of Ophthalmology at Pfizer overseeing the company’s global ophthalmology brands as well as commercial development of the mid-stage portfolio and long-range strategic planning.
John Ferris, most recently the vice president of marketing for Bausch + Lomb’s OTC Vitamin portfolio, will serve as the vice president and general manager for U.S. Vision Care, reporting to Gordon. Ferris will be responsible for the day-to- day management of the business, driving all aspects of the U.S. contact lens portfolio. Under his leadership in his previous role, the PreserVision and Ocuvite eye vitamin brands became two of the company’s top-selling products, with combined annual sales of more than $200 million.
Ferris first joined Bausch + Lomb in 2011, bringing 15 years of consumer and healthcare professional marketing experience with Wyeth and Becton Dickinson across OTC, prescription pharmaceuticals and medical devices.
Chuck Hess, vice president and general manager for U.S. Surgical, will oversee the daily operations of the business, reporting to Valorie. An ophthalmology industry veteran, Hess has been with the Surgical business for more than 32 years and a part of Bausch + Lomb since it acquired the Storz Instrument Company in 1997. Since joining Bausch + Lomb, he has led the Surgical business’ growth by increasing its market share through R&D and business development activities such as the exclusive intraocular lens (IOL) distribution agreement with HOYA Surgical Optics. He also drove the expansion of the company’s Surgical pipeline and product portfolio into the retina market through the acquisition of Synergetics in 2015. By aligning the surgical organization to focus on enhancing the customer experience, Hess will also continue to oversee strategic efforts to educate surgeons on the use of new Surgical innovations launching in 2017 and beyond.
“Joe, Tracy, John and Chuck have all played integral roles in Bausch + Lomb’s growth and will be instrumental as we continue to invest in this core business,” said Papa. “I am confident that their exceptional leadership and expert understanding of this dynamic business will help to further expand the business and drive Bausch + Lomb’s mission and vision forward to deliver advanced, innovative technologies to the broader eye health community.”