Frinzi named WaveTec president, CEO

AlisoViejo, CA-Thomas G. Frinzi has been named WaveTec Vision’s president and chief executive officer (CEO).

He succeeds Tom Berryman, who after a transition period will be leaving the company to pursue entrepreneurial ventures.

“What attracted me to WaveTec is the potential to change the landscape of cataract surgery,” Frinzi said. “What cornea topography was to refractive surgery, [the company’s intraoperative wavefront aberrometer (ORange)] can be to cataract surgery. The premium channel has raised expectations, and WaveTec is uniquely positioned to help surgeons optimize their outcomes and ultimately improve the overall patient experience. That’s exciting.”

Charles Warden of Versant Ventures and a board member and investor in WaveTec, said that Frinzi “is a seasoned and dynamic leader who brings a wealth of proven commercial experience within the ophthalmic space. I know we all feel fortunate to have him at the helm as WaveTec continues the commercialization of its ground-breaking, surgery-guiding solution.”

Frinzi began his career at Johnson & Johnson and is a 30-year veteran of the ophthalmic and medical device industries. Most recently, he served as vice president of global commercial operations at Bausch + Lomb Surgical, where he was responsible for worldwide revenue of about $500 million generated via the company’s cataract and vitreoretinal product portfolio. He held various executive roles at Refractec, including president and CEO as well as chief operating officer.  Before Refractec, he was vice president of sales at Bausch + Lomb, managing several product launches. His ophthalmic career also includes tenures at Chiron Vision Corp. and Iolab Corp.