STAAR Appoints Stephen C. Farrell as President, CEO; Tom Frinzi to Remain as Adviser Through January 2026

STAAR Surgical announced Feb. 26 that Stephen C. Farrell, current lead independent director of the company’s board, has been appointed president and CEO.

Farrell succeeds ophthalmic industry veteran Tom Frinzi, who will remain with STAAR in an advisory role through January 2026 to support the transition, the company said.

STAAR, of Lake Forest, California, is the market leader in phakic IOL surgery, a procedure in which an artificial lens is implanted, without removing the natural lens, to correct refractive error. STAAR’s Evo ICL (implantable Collamer lens) gained US FDA approval in March 2022 to treat myopia and astigmatism.

Farrell has served on STAAR’s board for nine years. From 2011 to February 2024, he was CEO of Convey Health Solutions, which was acquired by TPG Capital in 2022. Before that, he was president of PolyMedica, a provider of diabetes supplies that was acquired by Medco Health Solutions in 2007.

Farrell said in a news release: “I have long believed in the advantages of the Evo ICL and its potential to transform refractive surgery. The building blocks for STAAR’s success are in place, and I will be looking at opportunities for improvement, optimization, and efficiency.”

Before joining STAAR, Frinzi served as worldwide president of surgical at Johnson & Johnson Vision; led Abbott Medical Optics; and held senior positions at WaveTec Vision, Bausch + Lomb Surgical, Refractec, and Chiron Vision.

STAAR also announced that Elizabeth Yeu, MD, who has served on its board since 2021, has been elected board chair. Yeu, a practicing ophthalmologist at Virginia Eye Consultants and past president of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS), currently serves as chief medical officer of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, maker of Xdemvy.