LAKE FOREST, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 1, 2024--
STAAR Surgical Company (NASDAQ: STAA), a leading developer, manufacturer and marketer of the EVO family of Implantable Collamer® Lenses (EVO ICL™) for myopia, astigmatism and presbyopia, today announced Nancy Sabin has been named Chief Marketing Officer and Nathaniel Sisitsky has been named General Counsel. Both will serve on the Company’s executive committee and report to Tom Frinzi, STAAR Surgical’s President and CEO.
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“We are thrilled to strengthen the STAAR team with the addition of Nancy and Nate, two seasoned executives with extensive senior leadership experience. They will play an integral role in accelerating our momentum and thereby growing the market for our surgeon customers who provide patients visual freedom from contact lenses and glasses with our lens-based technology,” said Tom Frinzi, President and CEO of STAAR Surgical. “Nancy is a perfect fit for the newly created Chief Marketing Officer position and will be critical to driving our brand awareness and innovation globally. She is a proven commercial leader with an extensive track record of delivering growth within consumer products, OTC pharmaceuticals and medical devices during her 20-year career with various franchises at Johnson & Johnson. Nate takes on an important role as our new General Counsel overseeing our legal functions globally. Nate brings to STAAR extensive experience providing legal advice and counsel to public companies, including 15 years in med-tech. He joins us from NuVasive where he was instrumental in its successful $3 billion merger with Globus Medical.”
Frinzi continued, “I would like to express my utmost gratitude to Sam Gesten, STAAR’s former general counsel, who retired after 12 years of service earlier this year. We are grateful for his tireless work in moving the company forward and wish him all the very best in the future.”
Nancy Sabin joined the team from Johnson & Johnson (J&J) where she most recently served as VP of Marketing and Connected Commerce for J&J Vision managing based marketing, digital strategy and connected commerce functions for the ACUVUE™ contact lens business in the U.S., one of J&J’s businesses with annual sales of at least $1 billion. Prior, she led Global Marketing for J&J Vision on the surgical side, driving innovation and equity for its industry leading global intraocular lenses. She has also held marketing leadership roles across J&J Consumer and J&J MedTech; with responsibility for driving growth and building global brands like TYLENOL™; ZYRTEC™ and ETHICON™. Nancy holds an M.B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business and a B.S. in Engineering from Duke University.
Ms. Sabin stated, “I am delighted to be a part of STAAR during this critical phase in the company's growth. I am a huge believer in the transformation made possible thanks to our EVO ICLs and look forward to elevating the STAAR and EVO brands among surgeons and their patients. I am excited and honored to lead our marketing teams worldwide.”
Nathaniel Sisitsky joined STAAR Surgical from NuVasive, Inc., a medical device company, where he served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary since 2018. Prior to joining NuVasive, he served as Vice President and Associate General Counsel at CareFusion Corporation, a global medical technology company, and as Vice President, Legal – Corporate Finance at American Tower Corporation, a global owner and operator of wireless communication sites. Prior to joining American Tower, Nate was a Junior Partner in the Corporate Department of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr (WilmerHale). He holds a J.D. from New York University School of Law and a B.A. in Political Science and Economics from Emory University.
“I am thrilled to join the STAAR leadership team at a time of significant opportunity and growth for our vision correction lenses,” said Nate Sisitsky.
About STAAR Surgical
STAAR, which has been dedicated solely to ophthalmic surgery for over 40 years, designs, develops, manufactures and markets implantable lenses for the eye. These lenses are intended to provide visual freedom for patients, lessening or eliminating the reliance on glasses or contact lenses. All of these lenses are foldable, which permits the surgeon to insert them through a small incision. STAAR’s lens used in refractive surgery is called an Implantable Collamer® Lens or “ICL,” which includes the EVO ICL™ product line. More than 3,000,000 ICLs have been sold to date and STAAR markets these lenses in over 75 countries. To learn more about the ICL go to: EVOICL.com. Headquartered in Lake Forest, CA, the company operates manufacturing and packaging facilities in Aliso Viejo, CA, Monrovia, CA and Nidau, Switzerland. For more information, please visit the Company’s website at www.staar.com.
Nathaniel Sisitsky, Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, STAAR Surgical (Photo: Business Wire)
Nancy Sabin, Chief Marketing Officer, STAAR Surgical (Photo: Business Wire)
HOUSTON, Texas (AP) — A barge slammed into a bridge pillar in Galveston, Texas, on Wednesday, spilling oil into surrounding waters and closing the only road to a smaller and separate island that is home to a university, officials said. There were no immediate reports of injuries, although officials said one person on the barge was knocked into the water and quickly rescued.
The bridge that leads to Pelican Island, north of Galveston, was struck by the barge around 9:50 a.m. when a tugboat backing out of Texas International Terminals, a fuel storage operator next to the bridge, lost control of two barges it was pushing, said David Flores, a bridge superintendent with the Galveston County Navigation District.
“The current was very bad, and the tide was high. He lost it,” Flores said.
One of the barges hit the bridge and two telephone poles, he said.
The accident came weeks after a cargo ship crashed into a support column of the Francis Key Bridge in Baltimore on March 26, killing six construction workers.
The accident Wednesday knocked one man off the vessel and into the water, but he was quickly recovered and was not injured, said Galveston County Sheriff's Office Maj. Ray Nolen.
The tugboat was pushing bunker barges, which are fuel barges for ships, Flores said. The accident resulted in oil spilling from the barge into the bay and crews were working to clean it up, he said. The barge, which is owned by Martin Petroleum, has a 30,000-gallon capacity, but it's not clear how much leaked into the bay, said Galveston County spokesperson Spencer Lewis. He said about 6.5 miles (10.5 kilometers) of the waterway was shut down as a result of the spill.
Pelican Island, which is connected to Galveston by the bridge, is home to a large shipyard, Texas A&M University of Galveston, and Seawolf Park, a former immigration station that now attracts tourists to its iconic fishing pier and decommissioned U.S. Navy vessels.
Fire trucks drove over the bridge as workers and law enforcement officials looked at the remnants of the collapsed rail line. Aerial footage showed a large piece of broken concrete and debris from the railroad hanging off the side of the bridge and laying on the barge that officials said rammed into the passageway.
Flores said the rail line only serves as protection for the structure and has never been used.
A statement posted on the City of Galveston's Facebook page said there were no reports of injuries and that the island is currently inaccessible to car traffic.
“Engineers from the Texas Department of Transportation are also enroute to inspect the roadway and determine if there is damage,” the statement said. “The bridge will remain closed until it is deemed safe to use.”
One business, Baywatch Dolphin Tours, said they were seeking the university's approval to shuttle people off the island and were planning how to provide a long-term service while bridge repairs are underway.
Opened in 1960, the Pelican Island Causeway Bridge was rated as “Poor” according to the Federal Highway Administration’s 2023 National Bridge Inventory released last June.
The overall rating of a bridge is based on whether the condition of any of its individual components — the deck, superstructure, substructure or culvert, if present — is rated poor or below.
In the case of the Pelican Island Causeway Bridge, inspectors rated the deck in “Satisfactory Condition,” the substructure in “Fair Condition” and the superstructure — or the component that absorbs the live traffic load — in “Poor Condition.”
The bridge has one main steel span that measures 164 feet (50 meters), and federal data shows it was last inspected in December 2021. However, it’s unclear from the data if a state inspection took place after the Federal Highway Administration compiled the data.
The bridge had an average daily traffic figure of about 9,100, according to a 2011 estimate.
Associated Press reporters Christopher L. Keller in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Valerie Gonzalez in McAllen, Texas; Acacia Coronado in Austin, Texas; and Ken Miller in Oklahoma City contributed to this report.
Galveston police officers talk to drivers attempting to get to Pelican Island in Galveston, Texas, on Wednesday, May 15, 2024. The bridge, the only road access to and from the island, was closed after a barge crashed into it. (Jennifer Reynolds/The Galveston County Daily News via AP)
A tugboat works to maneuver a barge away from the Pelican Island Bridge in Galveston, Texas, on Wednesday, May 15, 2024, after the barge crashed into the bridge spilling oil into surrounding waters and shutting down the only road access to and from the island. (Jennifer Reynolds/The Galveston County Daily News via AP)
A tugboat works to maneuver a barge away from the Pelican Island Bridge in Galveston, Texas, on Wednesday, May 15, 2024, after the barge crashed into the bridge shutting down the only road access to and from the island. (Jennifer Reynolds/The Galveston County Daily News via AP)
Oil spills into the surrounding waters after a barge hit a bridge in Galveston, Texas, on Wednesday, May 15, 2024. A bridge that leads to Pelican Island, located just north of Galveston, was hit by a barge around 9:30 a.m., said Ronnie Varela, with the Galveston’s Office of Emergency Management.(KTRK via AP)
Oil spills into the surrounding waters after a barge hit a bridge in Galveston, Texas, on Wednesday, May 15, 2024. A bridge that leads to Pelican Island, located just north of Galveston, was hit by a barge around 9:30 a.m., said Ronnie Varela, with the Galveston’s Office of Emergency Management.(KTRK via AP)
