Arthur Butcher, Wei Jiang Named to STAAR Surgical Board

STAAR Surgical Company has welcomed two new board members: Arthur Butcher and Wei Jiang.
 
Butcher has extensive medical device marketing, strategy, and product development experience, including significant business experience in Asia. He is currently executive vice president and group president, MedSurg and Asia Pacific, for Boston Scientific, a position he has held since May 2022. Before assuming his current role, Butcher was responsible for commercializing the company’s full portfolio of products across all divisions in the Asia Pacific region. Butcher joined Boston Scientific in 1997. He currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Acotec Scientific Holdings Limited, listed publicly on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Butcher earned a bachelor of arts degree in international relations from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from Columbia University.
 
Jiang has more than 25 years’ experience in the pharmaceutical and medical device industries, with particular focus in China and the Asia/Pacific region. He most recently served as executive vice president, Bayer Pharmaceuticals Region China & APAC, and president, Bayer Group Greater China Region, until his retirement in 2021. Before joining Bayer in 2012, he held various senior positions at AstraZeneca, culminating in his role as senior vice president, China operations. Prior to that, Jiang was managing director of China operations at Guidant Corporation and in various roles at Eli Lilly & Company including marketing director of China Operations. He currently serves as a board member of Waters Corporation, listed publicly on the New York Stock Exchange.

Jiang earned a B.BA. in business administration from Campbell University in North Carolina and an M.A. in economics from Indiana State University.

“Art Butcher and Wei Jiang are seasoned executives with broad leadership experience built over decades at two highly regarded global companies,” said Aimee Weisner, chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee of STAAR Surgical’s Board of Directors. “Art and Wei also have particular expertise in APAC, the largest market in the world for refractive vision correction. We welcome them to the board and look forward to leveraging their insights during this period of accelerating growth and innovation at STAAR.”
 
Director K. Peony Yu., M.D., will not be rejoining STAAR Surgical’s board after her current term expires next month. “Peony leveraged her vast clinical and patient knowledge as a board member, and STAAR appreciates her many contributions to our board during her tenure. Peony has been an important part of governance and decision-making during her more than three years on the board, and she helped us build a strong foundation for future growth. We wish her the best in her future endeavors,” Board Chair Tom Frinzi stated.
 
The addition of Butcher and Jiang brings STAAR Surgical’s board membership to eight directors, seven of whom are independent non-employee directors. Other current board members include Frinzi; Weisner; Stephen Farrell; Elizabeth Yeu, M.D.; K. Peony Yu, M.D.; and Lilian Zhou.
 
Dedicated solely to ophthalmic surgery for more than 40 years, STAAR Surgical designs, develops, manufactures, and markets implantable lenses for the eye. These lenses aim to provide visual freedom for patients, lessening or eliminating the reliance on glasses or contact lenses. All of these lenses are foldable, which permits the surgeon to insert them through a small incision. STAAR’s lens used in refractive surgery is called an Implantable Collamer Lens or “ICL,” which includes the EVO ICL product line. More than 2.5 million ICLs have been sold to date and STAAR markets these lenses in over 75 countries. Headquartered in Lake Forest, Calif., the company operates manufacturing and packaging facilities in Aliso Viejo, Calif., Monrovia, Calif., and Nidau, Switzerland.