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OWL’s vision is to promote and develop diverse leadership to advance ophthalmic innovation and patient care.
OWL works across Eyecare. Our mission is to provide professional and personal development and create opportunities for collaboration.
Rarely will you find a value as great as an OWL membership! By becoming a member you establish yourself as committed to "Advancing Diversity in Leadership" and in standing as a leader for today's world. You'll also be affiliated with the best and brightest in Ophthalmology. Take a look here at some of our Champion members!
LEARN MOREOWL’s vision is to advance diversity and holistic inclusivity within eyecare leadership and to do so, we reached out to…
As a member of the eyecare community for close to 20 years, Jill has helped shift treatment paradigms through the…
OWL’s second Leadership Summit, held in Austin on September 21-22, 2023, proved to be a dynamic gathering of industry thought…
Developing leaders is OWL's mission and our specialty! Get terrific experience and benefit from the best-of-the-best networking in Ophthalmology when you get involved in OWL:
OWL is a 501(c)3 organization, meaning any financial contribution is 100% tax-deductible. OWL focuses the investment of members’ dues on programs and events that will benefit members (our admin costs are low compared to other nonprofits).
Your company can align with OWL's mission by having a presence at our events and benefit from exposure on our social mediachannels and in our member communications. Organizations and companies that want to be involved at the highest level can enroll their associates as virtual members, receive educational programs and get sponsorship exposure by becoming an OWL Partner.
LEARN MOREThe OWL Awards are given annually at OWL's Signature Event during AAO. The finalists are distinguished and respected - always an impressive group!
Nominations for the OWL Awards open in the Summer. A Nominations Committee selects the finalists and then OWL members cast their votes in the Fall.
Contact Us for information on nominating a colleague as a ‘Rising Star’, ‘Catalyst’ or ‘Visionary’ in Ophthalmology.
LEARN MORESVP of Commercial, NA
Apellis Pharmaceuticals
David Acheson joined Apellis Pharmaceuticals in November of 2019, a Waltham, MA based biotech company that is committed to developing transformative therapies for people living with a broad range of debilitating diseases. David brings over 20 years of pharma and biotech experience to the organization, and joined Apellis to lead the commercialization of the company’s first ever marketed products that are focused on controlling complement, a part of the body’s immune system. At Apellis, David serves as the Senior Vice President of Commercial for North America, and since joining the organization, has built out the Rare Disease division of the company and led a very successful first launch for Apellis for the treatment of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) with Apellis’ novel C3 complement product, pegcetacoplan. David is currently leading the pre-commercialization efforts and build of the Ophthalmology division in preparation for the anticipated, first ever treatment for geographic atrophy. Prior to joining Apellis, David worked at Circassia Pharmaceuticals, a U.K. based company focused in the areas of respiratory diagnostics and treatment, where he held progressive leadership roles, including SVP & General Manager for the U.S. division based in Raleigh, NC. As a part of Circassia, David was responsible for growing the organization from start-up operations to roughly 300 employees in the U.S. and growing revenues from $15M to just over $250M in less than three years, both through organic growth as well as strategic collaborative partnerships with both small and large pharma companies. David started his pharmaceutical career at Roche Pharmaceuticals, and holds a bachelor of science degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
More OWL ChampionsSVP of Marketing
Elios Vision
Cari Stone currently serves as the Senior Vice President of Marketing at Elios Vision, a medical device company with a breakthrough excimer laser technology for the treatment of glaucoma. Cari has spent her career in biopharma and medevice and has experience leading through change and building culture in large, established organizations and small, growing companies. Cari takes great pride in delivering business results while simultaneously mentoring, developing, and sponsoring talent at all levels of organizations.
In her current role, Cari is responsible for Elios’ US launch and commercialization. Prior to joining Elios, Cari was the Vice President of Global Glaucoma at Alcon where she led the acquisition and integration of Ivantis and restarted the company’s surgical glaucoma business. Prior to Alcon she was at Allergan where she ran the market leading glaucoma drops franchise and launched the XEN microsent. Before joining Ophthalmology, Cari was at Amgen in Oncology for 9 years where she held a variety of roles with increasing responsibility in marketing, strategy, business development, and sales.
Cari has her bachelor’s in finance and accounting from Indiana University and her MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.
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