June 05, 2018

High-Energy Think Tank Slated for Exhibit Hall on Thursday, June 21

PLEASANTON, Calif., June 5, 2018 — To address the many challenges facing today’s eye care practices amidst unprecedented change in the industry, CooperVision, Inc. has unveiled the Best Practices EYEdea Lab. This first-of-its-kind “think tank” will take place on June 21 in the exhibit hall at Optometry’s Meeting 2018 in Denver. In the EYEdea Lab, Best Practices honorees will leverage their collective experiences and expertise to advance the profession.

2018 Best Practices honorees will be joined in the EYEdea Lab by several past award recipients to develop novel, high-value solutions for the industry, working together to conduct research, collect ideas, and bring recommendations forward. These outcomes will then be unveiled at the Global Contact Lens Forum at Vision Expo West in Las Vegas this September. More details will be revealed in the Mile High City.

The collaboration is being facilitated by Dr. David Ricketts, Innovation Fellow at Harvard University. He kicked off the initiative as 2018 honorees met for the first time this Spring, at the exclusive CooperVision Best Practices Summit in Austin, Texas.

“With optometry’s evolution, eye care professionals must adapt for their practices to not only survive, but thrive,” said Michele Andrews, OD, Senior Director of Professional and Academic Affairs, North America, CooperVision. “Our Best Practices honorees have found ways to do this in their own communities, but now we are challenging them to take their vision a few steps further—to push the boundaries of what’s possible and develop a roadmap for  thousands of their peers to adopt.”

Honorees will work in the EYEdea Lab at Optometry’s Meeting on Thursday, June 21 from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. in the exhibit hall (Booth 316) at the Colorado Convention Center. All Optometry’s Meeting attendees are invited to stop by and provide their own insights about the future of the profession.

“It is fitting that the Best Practices tackle this project right on the show floor, in the middle of everything, surrounded by their peers and so many contributors to optometry,” said Dr. Andrews. “It will be inspiring.”

As an expert in innovation, science and technology, Dr. Ricketts guides and teaches leaders in various industries how to understand the untapped value in their markets, and discover and solve high-impact problems  to outperform the competition. In addition to his work at Harvard, he has held appointments at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Carnegie Mellon University, and North Carolina State University.

“Innovation is not only about bringing together the experts in a field, but having them focus on defining and testing real solutions for their industry,” said Dr. Ricketts. “The EYEdea Lab will be a hands-on innovation deep dive led by the 2018 Best Practices honorees. Key to making transformative solutions will be the direct engagement and participation of attendees in the exhibit hall to help uncover and test the new insights developed in the Lab.”

For more information about the EYEdea Lab, visit www.eyecarebestpractices.com/eyedea-lab or follow along on Facebook and Twitter.

About CooperVision
CooperVision, a unit of The Cooper Companies, Inc. (NYSE:COO), is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of soft contact lenses. The Company produces a full array of monthly, two-week and daily disposable contact lenses, all featuring advanced materials and optics. CooperVision has a strong heritage of solving the toughest vision challenges such as astigmatism and presbyopia; and offers the most complete collection of spherical, toric and multifocal products available. Through a combination of innovative products and focused practitioner support, the company brings a refreshing perspective to the marketplace, creating real advantages for customers and wearers. For more information, visit www.coopervision.com.

About The Cooper Companies
The Cooper Companies, Inc. ("Cooper") is a global medical device company publicly traded on the NYSE (NYSE:COO). Cooper is dedicated to being A Quality of Life Company™ with a focus on delivering shareholder value. Cooper operates through two business units, CooperVision and CooperSurgical. CooperVision brings a refreshing perspective on vision care with a commitment to developing a wide range of high-quality products for contact lens wearers and providing focused practitioner support. CooperSurgical is committed to advancing the health of families with its diversified portfolio of products and services focusing on women’s health, fertility and diagnostics. Headquartered in Pleasanton, Calif., Cooper has more than 11,000 employees with products sold in over 100 countries. For more information, please visit www.coopercos.com.

Media Contact
Heather Kowalczyk, APR
McDougall Communications for CooperVision
heather@mcdougallpr.com or (585) 330-4878