STAAR Surgical Company is reshuffling its Board of Directors. The governing body recently appointed former board member Louis E. Silverman as a director and accepted Aimee S. Weisner’s decision to leave the board at the end of her term next month. Weisner has served as a director since 2022.

In addition, company executives announced that board member Wei Jiang will serve in a short-term role as a special strategic advisor to the STAAR Surgical’s Asia Pacific business.

“We are pleased to have Lou rejoin the STAAR Board,” STAAR Surgical CEO and Board member Steve Farrell said. “Lou’s healthcare leadership experience, financial and operating rigor, and his knowledge of STAAR will serve our board well. I welcome him back, and I look forward to working with him again as we focus on improving our cost structure and returning STAAR to growth. I also want to thank Aimee for her service on the board.”

A STAAR Surgical board member for eight years (2014-2022), Silverman currently serves as chairperson/CEO of Hicuity Health Inc. (formerly known as Advanced ICU Care Inc.), a privately held healthcare services company providing remote patient monitoring services to hospitals. He has held those positions since February 2014. From June 2012 through February 2014, Silverman was a consultant and board advisor for private equity investors and others regarding healthcare technology and healthcare technology service companies, and healthcare services portfolio investments.

From September 2009 through June 2012, Silverman was CEO of Marina Medical Billing Services Inc., a revenue cycle management company serving emergency room physicians nationally. From September 2008 through August 2009, Silverman served as president/CEO of Qualcomm-backed healthcare start-up LifeComm. From August 2000 through August 2008, Silverman was president/CEO of Quality Systems Inc., a developer of medical and dental practice management and patient records software. Silverman served in multiple positions between 1993 and 2000, including chief operations officer of CorVel Corporation, a national managed care services/technology company.

Silverman has served as a board member of Oncocyte Corporation since November 2022, and he joined the Veradigm Inc. board in March. He earned a bachelor of arts degree from Amherst College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

With Silverman’s reappointment, the STAAR Board of Directors is now comprised of seven directors: Arthur C. Butcher, Stephen C. Farrell, Wei Jiang, Louis E. Silverman, Aimee S. Weisner, Elizabeth Yeu, M.D., and Lilian Y. Zhou. Farrell and Jiang do not qualify as independent directors under Nasdaq rules.

Jiang most recently served as executive vice president and president, Bayer Pharmaceuticals Region China and APAC, and president, Bayer Group Greater China Region, until his retirement in 2021. Before joining Bayer in 2012, he held various senior positions at AstraZeneca, culminating in his role as senior vice president, China operations. Prior to that, Jiang was managing director, China operations, at Guidant Corporation and in worked in various roles at Eli Lilly & Company, including marketing director, China Operations.

Jiang has been a Waters Corporation board member since 2021, and has served on its science and technology committee. He earned a B.BA. in business administration from Campbell University in North Carolina and a master’s degree in economics from Indiana State University.

“I am also excited that Wei has agreed to help STAAR strengthen our Asia Pacific business and operations…as a board member, Wei has worked closely with STAAR’s Asia Pacific team to understand the challenges and opportunities in this key region for the company,” Farrell commented. “Wei’s knowledge of STAAR, our business, strategy, and people, combined with his 25-plus year history of success in leadership roles at large multinational pharmaceutical companies in China, make him well suited for this role. We are fortunate to have Wei on our board, and we greatly appreciate his willingness to take on additional responsibilities in the temporary role of chief of APAC Strategy as we work to best position STAAR for long-term success.”

“Wei’s assistance in-country will accelerate the resolution of our distribution channel challenges in China and will help us to continue to successfully navigate the evolving global tariff environment,” Farrell continued. “Fortunately, we already had significant levels of inventory at our distributors in China prior to the imposition of tariffs. When the tariffs were announced, we negotiated and implemented formal consignment agreements with our two major distributors, and we delivered consigned inventory to China in advance of the implementation of tariffs to further mitigate financial exposure. In addition, we are rapidly ramping up our production capabilities in Switzerland to supplement U.S. manufacturing capacity and provide optionality under multiple tariff scenarios. On a related note, we are making meaningful progress on our cost control efforts and remain committed to improving profitability.”

STAAR Surgical develops implantable phakic intraocular lenses, a vision correction solution that reduces or eliminates the need for glasses or contact lenses. Since 1982, STAAR has been dedicated solely to ophthalmic surgery, and for 30 years, it has been designing, developing, manufacturing, and marketing advanced Implantable Collamer Lenses (ICLs), using its proprietary biocompatible Collamer material. STAAR ICL’s are clinically-proven to deliver safe long-term vision correction without removing corneal tissue or the eye’s natural crystalline lens. Its EVO ICL product line provides visual freedom through a quick, minimally invasive procedure. STAAR has sold more than 3 million ICLs in over 75 countries. Headquartered in Lake Forest, Calif., the company operates research, development, manufacturing, and packaging facilities in California and Switzerland.