A second-generation optician, I grew up in the optical laboratory business and learned the value of hard work. After receiving my engineering degree, I came back to the family business and fell in love with it all over again. I eventually worked my way up to President, while heavily involved in everything from business strategy to sales, marketing, customer service, manufacturing, operations, logistics, finance, human resources, IT, and everything in between. I had the opportunity to learn directly from a well-respected entrepreneur and industry Hall of Famer, while also getting the formal education of an MBA on the side. I worked hard to earn the respect of the team I would one day lead and devoted myself to servant leadership. I embraced continuous improvement as we took pride in our reputation for excellence and never became complacent. After selling Vision-Craft to Essilor, I combined my spirit of innovation, creativity, and analytical skills to give new life to neglected business units before doing some independent consulting. It was while doing this that a former customer recruited me into a new opportunity with Blue Sky Vision, a private equity-backed eye care group where I led the retail business along with the small laboratory. I made significant improvements in sales and EBITDA by focusing retail team members on key performance indicators, streamlining product offerings, and negotiating more favorable pricing. A larger group, EyeCare Partners, acquired Blue Sky Vision so I took on a new role in Operations Excellence, contributing $4.5 million to the bottom line in one year. Upon identifying an opportunity to significantly improve operational efficiency, I transitioned into a project management role as a consult to configure and deploy the new software solution. After leaving EyeCare Partners, I did some independent consulting before accepting a new role as the Sales Director for CV Optics USA, where I led a team focused on growing the young company into a major competitor in the ophthalmic lens space. I recently accepted the role of Chief Operating Officer at RLab, and look forward to the opportunity to establish RLab as a world-class optical laboratory.