(PRESS RELEASE) PALO ALTO, CA — SightGlass Vision, the developer of innovative technologies to address the global myopia epidemic, has named three eye care industry veterans to executive leadership positions. This follows the recent finalization of a joint venture operating agreement for the business between CooperCompanies and EssilorLuxottica.
Andrew Sedgwick has been appointed as chief executive officer. He was most recently senior vice president, Commercial Strategy for CooperVision. Sedgwick has also held posts as president of CooperVision’s European and Americas regions during his two decades with the company.
François Bloquiau becomes chief financial officer. He previously was CFO of EssilorLuxottica Brazil after holding senior finance and management roles with Essilor as well as for major retail, entertainment and financial services corporations.
Balthazar Masurel joins SightGlass Vision as vice president of Strategic Marketing. Most recently, he led global myopia control and presbyopia category marketing for Essilor. Before that, he spent eight years with Johnson & Johnson Vision in business development and marketing positions.
In addition, three SightGlass Vision executives will continue to serve in their current roles: Peter Hones, PhD, as senior vice president of R&D & Technology, Vanessa Tasso as senior vice president of Regulatory & Quality, and Ed Caufield as vice president of IT.
“Commercialization of Diffusion Optics Technology is progressing in collaboration with our distributors, including the first European launch in the Netherlands and planned introductions for other markets this year,” said Sedgwick. “We are backed by a talented and growing team recruited from across the eye care profession—including the senior leaders announced today—and will be adding even more people in the coming months.”
Spectacle lenses using patent-protected SightGlass Vision Diffusion Optics Technology incorporate thousands of micro-dots that softly scatter light to reduce contrast on the retina—a method intended to reduce myopia progression in children.
The last several decades have seen a steady rise in the prevalence of myopia worldwide, notably under the effect of lifestyle changes. Affecting 2.6 billion people globally, it is estimated that nearly 5 billion people – half the world’s population – will be myopic by 2050. Myopia is the leading cause of visual impairment in children and, over time, may contribute to an increased risk of developing permanent vision impairment, including macular degeneration, retinal detachment, cataract and glaucoma, and blindness associated with high myopia.