(L to R) Matt Oerding, Dr. Weslie Hamada, and John Walborn.
BOULDER, Colo.—Moving to expand and optimize capabilities across the eyecare industry, Sanitas Advisors has announced the addition of John Walborn and Dr. Weslie Hamada to their team of strategic advisors. “I am proud of the team we are assembling and excited about building the future together,” said Bart Foster, founder and managing director. He added "Sanitas Advisors partners with organizations across the public and private sector to tackle their important challenges and help accelerate innovation," according to the announcement.

John Walborn joins the company with over 25 years commercial leadership experience, most recently as president of the wholesale lens business for Essilor of America. Walborn will focus on driving go-to-market strategies, strategic partnerships, business development, and new innovation opportunities. “John is an entrepreneurial and customer-centric senior executive with achievements in strategy, business development, sales, marketing, M&A, eCommerce, and organizational leadership and brings to the team a wealth of knowledge across the entire supply chain," said Foster.

Weslie Hamada, OD, FAAO, is a successful eyecare leader with extensive industry experience. “Weslie joins the team with such a broad and diverse background in the eyecare industry, which includes over 10 years of clinical practice, professional advocacy, industry R&D, product commercialization roles and deep connections with the eyecare community,” Foster said.

Dr. Hamada's most recent role was leading doctor focused advancement strategy and professional relations at Luxottica Eye Care across LensCrafters, Pearle Vision, and Target Optical. “Her deep knowledge of the industry and being an optometrist will help strengthen the company’s core capabilities, while engaging with key opinion leaders,” Foster added.

Walborn and Dr. Hamada will join fellow strategic advisor, Matt Oerding, who joined the team in 2018. Oerding's expertise has been helping companies innovate and anticipate disruptions, developing strategies to accelerate profitable growth through product and commercial innovation as well as go to market strategies. He is also the co-founder of Treehouse Eyes, the first business focused exclusively on treating myopic children. Prior to Sanitas Advisors, Oerding spent over 15 years at Novartis where he led the most successful contact lens launches in the U.S. along with the first e-commerce strategy for the Alcon business.