Eyoto, a British optical innovation group, announced a significant expansion of operations in the U.S. with the appointment of Kurt Gardner as vice president and general manager for North America.
He will oversee the group’s sales, logistics and operational activities in the U.S. and Canada.
Gardner is a veteran of the optical industry, having started his career with Pearle Vision as a licensed optician, then advancing into senior sales, marketing and operations roles with FEA Industries and Indizen Optical Technologies of America, where he was integral in launching the European-based brand into the Americas.
Eyoto also announced that the eMap Lens Visualisation and Analysis Platform is now commercially available in North America. Since its launch at Vision Expo East in New York City earlier this year, eMap has gained attention on both sides of the Atlantic. The system “has been engineered to take both quality assurance in the lab and the customer experience in retail to new levels,” according to a press release from Eyoto.
“The cloud-connected eMap platform not only has the ability to quickly power-map and visualize lenses, but also provides compliance to ANSI standards, insight and visualization via the cloud portal, and to give customers a distinctive, evidence based dispensing experience,” the release states.
“Eyoto represents the forward-thinking and innovative approach that the industry needs, and I am excited to join the team especially as eMap is being introduced,” said Gardner, who also holds a leadership role with The Vision Council’s Emerging Optical Leaders. “The eMap system brings wide field lens analysis to everyone in a fast, easy to use package. Both labs and ECPs finally have the ability to see the whole picture of what they are manufacturing and dispensing, making this the benchmark for lens dispensing of the future.”
Carl Francis, Eyoto group CEO, said “Kurt is a great guy with a big personality who is well-known throughout the optical industry. He is an innovative thinker who puts his customers first, and we are delighted to have him as part of our senior leadership team. Kurt will no doubt push us to stay customer-centric, as well as help us pick the right commercial partners.”
Eyoto was a 2014 spin out of Aston University.