NEW YORK—The 2021 Vision Monday Leadership Summit will culminate next month in two dynamic sessions, to be broadcast on Oct. 20 and Oct. 27, which will explore the theme, “Retail and Healthcare: Upended! Ripping Up the Rulebook.” They extend the 2021 VM Summit series of conversations about how help business and professional leaders can tap the power of “Creative Disruption” as they continue to grapple with the impact of the pandemic and the changes it has escalated in both retail and healthcare.

The two virtual sessions replace a live event originally scheduled for Sept. 22 in Las Vegas.





On October 20, Part One of “Retail and Healthcare: Upended!” will feature speakers who will illuminate new patterns and possibilities for the patient journey, what healthcare is learning from retail and how the new wave of wearables is directly involving the patient in managing care with their doctors. And, with misinformation proliferating, they’ll examine how the pandemic has put patients’ trust to the test and how providers can help counter this challenge.

Among the speakers in this broadcast are:

• John Whyte, MD, MPH, chief medical officer, of WebMD
• Jennifer Hauser, founder and director of Wellness 360
• Mohamed Abou Shousha, MD, PhD, president and CEO of Heru
• Amir Khoshnevis, OD, chief medical officer, Vision Source
• Ankit Vahia, PhD, executive strategy director, health and wellness, Grey Group

A final Summit session on Oct. 27 will probe how the pandemic has redefined the relationship of consumers to stores and brands, and how the dramatic growth of online options is requiring retailers to invent new reasons to draw consumers into stores. Summit speakers will share insights about how to re-engage shoppers in creative ways that embrace technology and meet them where they are now.

They’ll also explore the intriguing possibilities of the Metaverse. And optical retail executives, eyecare professionals and other “vision voices” will share how they are prioritizing investment decisions in this extraordinary new business environment. Additional program details and speakers will be announced soon.

Noted Marge Axelrad, SVP, editorial director of Vision Monday, “Powerful new forces, accelerated by the pandemic, are turning healthcare and retail upside down. New players and never-before-seen business models are quickly emerging, and legacy companies are scrambling to compete. And consumers are questioning and reassessing everything.”

Added Andrew Karp, VM’s lens & technology editor, “This is causing a rapid restructuring, fueled by transformative technologies such as AI and 5G networks. The future is taking shape as fast as we can imagine it. Whether you’re a business leader, optical retailer or eyecare professional, you need a creative and effective action plan.”

The Platinum Sponsors of the 2021 VM Leadership Summit are EssilorLuxottica, Healthy Eyes Advantage-PECAA and VSP Global Premier Program. The Gold Sponsor is The Vision Council’s Vision Health Alliance and the Silver Sponsors are Alcon and Ocuco.