STAAR Surgical develops implantable lenses -- long-term alternatives to glasses or contact lenses that are implanted directly into the eye -- and their accompanying delivery systems. The leader in developing, manufacturing, and marketing this technology, STAAR has recently announced two new additions to their Board of Directors - Dr. Gilbert H. Kliman and Thomas G. Frinzi. Dr. Kliman is an ophthalmologist and a Managing Partner at InterWest Partners, while Mr. Frinzi is the former Worldwide President, Surgical, at Johnson & Johnson Vision.
The pair bring an impressive amount of experience to the board. Dr. Kliman has held his position with InterWest Partners since 1996 and has also served on the board of directors of Glaukos Corporation since 2007. A board-certified ophthalmologist, he was a Heed Foundation fellow while completing a fellowship at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. Dr. Kliman was formerly a lead investor as well as director of both Avedro and IntraLase. Currently, he is also a director at ORBIS International healthcare company.
Mr. Frinzi served at Johnson & Johnson from February 2017 to December 2019, immediately following his position as Senior Vice President of Abbott Laboratories and President of Abbott Medical Optics (AMO). Over the years, he has also held leadership positions in business development, commercial operations, and sales and marketing at Refractec, Bausch and Lomb Surgical, and Chiron Vision.
STAAR plans on nominating its current directors, John Moore, Caren Mason, Stephen Farrell, and Louis Silverman to serve as directors during its 2020 Annual Meeting of Shareholders this summer. Chairman of the Board Lou Silverman said that "Dr. Kliman is an investment professional and former practicing ophthalmologist who will bring a broad range of experiences and perspectives to STAAR’s Board. Tom’s leadership track record in ophthalmology and medical device spans more than 30 years and encompasses both large, well-established companies and innovative start-ups...On behalf of the entire Board, we look forward to Gil and Tom’s contributions to STAAR’s future successes."
STAAR has focused solely on ophthalmological surgery for over three decades, with the goal of giving patients more visual freedom by enabling them to break free from reliance on more traditional forms of lenses, like glasses and contacts.
