Chet Kumar, vice president, corporate development and innovation.
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SARATOGA, Calif.—VisionCare Ophthalmic Technologies, the developer, manufacturer and marketer of the Implantable Miniature Telescope, has named Blake Michaels as vice president, sales and current executive, Chet Kumar, as vice president, corporate development and innovation. These management additions support the global market expansion of the company’s CentraSight treatment program.

“Blake's deep ophthalmic industry knowledge, commercial experience and leadership will enhance our sales efforts and drive expansion of our CentraSight provider network,” said Wolfgang Tolle, VisionCare's president and CEO. “Chet has been an integral force in the development and commercialization of the telescope implant and CentraSight treatment program. In his new role, he will continue to increase market access today and via future product offerings.”

Michaels is an accomplished and successful sales and marketing executive with over 30 years of experience in the ophthalmic device industry. He was most recently director of key accounts for Alcon Laboratories (Novartis), where he was on the original launch team commercializing the LenSx femtosecond laser for cataract surgery.

He has also been a regional director of sales for Alcon in the refractive division, coming over in the acquisition of WaveLight in late 2007, where he was VP, sales and marketing for the U.S. subsidiary. Prior to WaveLight/Alcon, Michaels was the director of marketing for Bausch + Lomb's U.S. cataract business, where he led the global launch of the SofPort AO advanced optic IOL and the EasyLoad injector system.