STAAR Surgical Company announced that Chief Executive Officer Caren Mason will be retiring December 31, 2022, after leading the company through a significant period of revitalization and growth for more than seven years. STAAR's Board of Directors has appointed ophthalmic industry executive Thomas “Tom” G. Frinzi, current Board Chair of STAAR, to serve as President and CEO, effective January 1, 2023. To ensure a seamless transition, Ms. Mason has agreed to serve in an advisory role through December 31, 2023.

Ms. Mason was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of STAAR in March 2015 after serving as an independent Director on STAAR's Board of Directors since 2014. Prior to joining STAAR, Ms. Mason served as CEO and in other senior executive roles at numerous innovative healthcare, life sciences, diagnostic technology, and medical device companies. Mr. Frinzi was appointed to STAAR's Board of Directors in June 2020 and has extensive experience in the ophthalmic and medical device industries at both large, well-established companies and innovative start-ups.

He served as Worldwide President, Surgical for Johnson & Johnson's Vision business, and previously served as Senior Vice President of Abbott Laboratories and President, Abbott Medical Optics (AMO). Prior to Abbott, he served as President and CEO of WaveTec Vision, a developer of surgical systems for eye surgery. He previously held senior positions in commercial operations, business development, and sales and marketing at Bausch & Lomb Surgical, Refractec and Chiron Vision.