CEO, STAAR SURGICAL
WHY: Runs Lake Forest-based eye-focused device maker, one of OC’s largest publicly traded companies valued at nearly $5B as of early September. Product serves as an alternative to laser-based procedures like LASIK.
IN THE NEWS: Doubled sales of Visian Implantable Collamer Lenses (ICL) to 2M in three years. ICLs allow users “to break free from the hassles of glasses and frequent replacement of contact lenses,” company officials said.
QUOTABLE: Staar moved HQ from Monrovia to Lake Forest in 2019 because “for recruiting ophthalmologists, Orange County is more important than Los Angeles.”
