Sami Abbasi.
​
DALLAS—United Vision Partners (UVP), a leading network of comprehensive eyecare providers and a portfolio company of Waud Capital Partners has announced that health care industry executive Sami Abbasi has joined as CEO and president.

“We are thrilled to have such a talented leader join United Vision,” said Richard Lindstrom, MD, a board member of UVP and a founding physician at Minnesota Eye Consultants, UVP’s first partner practice. “Sami shares our belief in a core foundation of clinical excellence and a commitment to a culture of growth and differentiation. This is an important step in establishing UVP as the preferred partner for leading eyecare providers.”

Abbasi brings over 30 years of experience growing businesses in the physician practice and multi-site health care markets. Most recently, he served as the CEO of PhyMed Healthcare Group, a leading provider of anesthesiology practice management services across the U.S. He previously held CEO positions for successful publicly-traded and private equity-backed health care providers in the radiology, surgery center and pathology markets.

“I am honored to join UVP at this exciting point in the organization’s history. We have a tremendous opportunity to build the leading community of integrated eyecare providers and I’m looking forward to supporting our physician partners in that endeavor,” said Abbasi.

Waud Capital Partners formed United Vision Partners in connection with its initial partnership with Minnesota Eye Consultants in January. Chris Graber, a principal with Waud Capital and a board member of UVP commented, “We’re focused on partnering with leading physician practices in the eyecare market. To be successful, we want our executive talent to be as accomplished as our medical talent. Sami has shown this repeatedly throughout his career, so we’re excited to welcome him to the team.”

United Vision Partners was formed to partner with leading eyecare providers in targeted markets throughout the U.S. The company provides management and support services to ophthalmology and optometry practices, as well as single-specialty eye surgery centers. Minnesota Eye Consultants operates through a network of six offices in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area, including four which operate ophthalmology-focused ambulatory surgery centers.

Based in Chicago, Waud Capital is a leading private equity firm founded in 1993 that partners with exceptional management teams to acquire or create platforms in the U.S. lower middle market through control-oriented growth equity investments, industry consolidation, buyouts or recapitalizations.