NEW YORK—As artificial intelligence and its pervasive impact on modern life continues to make headlines, the 2024 Vision Monday Leadership Summit will bring AI’s influence on optical business and vision care into focus.





The 17th annual VM Summit will take place in New York on March 13, just ahead of Vision Expo. In line with this year’s theme, “What’s Your AI Acuity? Sharpening a Vision for the Future,” influential thought leaders, business experts and vision care professionals will explore the critical decisions that leaders need to wrestle with to develop a clear-eyed view of the risks and rewards of AI implementation. They will consider the practical dimensions of how these powerful new technologies can supercharge elements of business and the profession, even as they navigate its complexities.

Registration is now open for the VM Summit, which includes the full program, networking breakfast and lunch. Details for registration are posted at www.visionmonday.com/summit.

The Vision Monday Leadership Summit is a special gathering of senior executives from throughout vision care and optical retail, including influential eyecare professionals and key opinion leaders who will gather to learn about significant trends impacting the future of health care, eyecare and retail and for exclusive networking as well.

The dynamic VM Summit program will give attendees a framework for strategizing AI solutions, the opportunity to learn which big ideas and trends are heading their way, and, for senior decision makers, company leaders and eyecare professionals, the optical industry’s most unique networking experience.



“The growing use of artificial intelligence in both health care and retail portends a seismic shift in how companies are operating,” noted Marge Axelrad, editorial director emeritus of Vision Monday and VMAIL. “With its vast capabilities, AI is opening up new dimensions and providing previously unimagined insights for customers, patients and employees,” she said.

“AI is already creating a new series of questions for decision makers,” added Andrew Karp, group editor, lenses and technology. “Among these are: Will AI demand a rethink of products, services and processes? Will leaders and managers come to depend on AI to make decisions about people, productivity and automation? Is AI the great equalizer for independents and entrepreneurs? Will patients trust advice from an algorithm? Will consumers accept recommendations from ‘the machine?’ What role will critical thinking and human intelligence play as AI spreads?”

The VM Summit program will kick off with a presentation by Samantha Jordan, a leading futurist who will provide informed insights and data about the advent of generative AI technology to business leaders. Jordan is a consultant to the Future Today Institute (FTI), a leading foresight and strategy firm founded by world-renowned futurist Amy Webb.

Jordan, who will open the 2024 VM Leadership Summit, will bring a unique take on how technology is unfolding to create new opportunities and approaches for business leaders. In her role, she helps organizations dissect the complexities of upcoming opportunities, while also factoring in the inherent risks. Her analysis of the data and trends in the ever-changing tech landscape helps organizations get unstuck and ready to develop and implement their own customized future-focused strategies for evolving their businesses.

At FTI, Jordan maintains a database of thousands of different trends, leveraging her expertise with the firm’s unique foresight methodology to advise her clients, some of whom rank in the Fortune Top 20. Together, she works with these organizations to adapt their strategies based on future scenarios that she helps craft. Jordan is also the founder and former CEO of TrovBase, a secure data discovery and analysis sharing platform.

Deborah Weinswig, one of the world’s leading retail observers and analysts, will then share her views about the fast-moving adoption of AI technology in the retail space. Weinswig is the founder and CEO of Coresight Research. She returns to the VM Leadership Summit this year to share how AI is super-charging the customer experience and also how retailers in the U.S. and around the world are tackling generative AI investments to help supply chain, marketing and merchandising approaches.

A sought-after and influential retail expert, Weinswig serves on the board of directors for the International Council of Shopping Centers, Goodwill Industries New York/New Jersey, GUESS?, Inc., Kiabi, Street Soccer USA and Xcel Brands, Inc. She is on the advisory board of the World Retail Congress as well as several accelerators.

Between 2014 to early 2018, Weinswig served as managing director of Fung Global Retail and Technology (FGRT), the think tank of Fung Group. Previously, she was managing director and head of the Global Staples & Consumer Discretionary team at Citi Research.

Two noted medical experts will share their perspectives on how AI is transforming health care. John Whyte, MD, MPH, WebMD’s chief medical officer and one of the most influential voices in the health sector, and Bill Fera, MD, a principal at the global consultancy Deloitte, will discuss how patients are learning to trust chatbots, how doctors are integrating generative AI into their practices, the need for transparency and other practical aspects of AI implementation.

Then a Summit session will examine how AI can offer providers new tools for disease detection and diagnosis, and play an enormous role in how data can be used to track both outcomes and efficiencies. Ophthalmologist Pearse Keane, MD, will discuss the pioneering research program at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London that is investigating how AI can help meet a growing clinical need to better analyze eye scans to detect early signs of retinal disease.

Now in its seventh year, the program grew out of a partnership with AI developer DeepMind and now involves Google Health. Dr. Keane will also explain how optometrists can tap into the resulting clinical data and benefit from the findings.

Another prominent ophthalmologist, James Tsai, MD, will describe the work being done at the newly established Center for Ophthalmic Artificial Intelligence and Human Health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, the first of its kind in New York and one of the first in the U.S. The center is dedicated to advancing artificial intelligence in the field of ophthalmology.

Joining Dr. Tsai will be Paul Karpecki, OD, FAAO. He currently serves as director of cornea and external disease for the Kentucky Eye Institute in Lexington, Ky., running the largest, advanced, referral only, ocular surface disease clinic in the U.S. He is also the chief medical editor for Review of Optometry. Dr. Tsai and Dr. Karpecki will discuss AI’s impact on the diagnosis and treatment of ocular disease, as well as the role that AI will be playing in optometric practices.

Another optometrist, Alex Martin, OD, will also join the conversation. Dr. Martin, who is medical director for Boston Vision in Lawrence, Mass., was a Student Innovator Scholarship winner at the 2017 Vision Monday Leadership Summit.

Also, the human resources impact of AI is already creating new challenges for business and eyecare leaders. Sharing views about how leaders can build the best AI teams will be Jim Rowan, a principal and leader of Deloitte’s strategy and analytics practice and Deloitte AI institute.

During lunch, a top global influencer will examine AI’s role in branding and the consumer experience. Liza Amlani, principal and co-founder of Retail Strategy Group, works with brands and retail clients across several categories to help them improve profitability and organization effectiveness. She will be the VM Summit’s special luncheon speaker, sharing examples of how AI is transforming brand experiences for customers.

Amlani’s clients span apparel, footwear, luxury, retail tech and more. She is a respected voice and is cited in Forbes, Bloomberg, Chain Store Age,The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Sourcing Journal and Footwear News. Amlani has been recognized by Rethink Retail as a “Top Retail Expert of 2024.” This honor is given to a select group of experts chosen from a group of 400 nominees.

Before founding Retail Strategy Group, Amlani was the merchandising expert in Accenture’s retail strategy practice. Before that, she spent more than 20 years in retail with companies including Ralph Lauren, Club Monaco, SportingLife and more.

The 2024 VM Leadership Summit program will open with a networking breakfast from 8:00 to 9:00 a.m. and the program and lunch will run from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Registration includes the full program, networking breakfast and lunch. Details for registration are posted at www.visionmonday.com/summit. At presstime, Platinum Sponsors of the 2024 VM Leadership Summit include Advancing Eyecare, EssilorLuxottica and VSP Vision. The Gold Sponsors are Alcon and Ocuco.