Brad Staley

NORFOLK, Va.—Advancing Eyecare, a recently formed holding owned by private equity firm Atlantic Street Capital, has appointed Brad Staley as chief executive officer, effective immediately. Staley will oversee all operations of Advancing Eyecare's ophthalmic equipment industry business units: Lombart Instrument, Marco, INNOVA and Enhanced Medical Services, according to an announcement Monday. Staley is the first chief executive officer of Advancing Eyecare and will be responsible for each of the four individual companies under its ownership, a spokesman told VMAIL. David Marco and Bryan Bevin, a senior operating advisor to Atlantic Street Capital’s portfolio companies, will continue in their roles as co-chairman, the spokesman added.

The launch of Advancing Eyecare occurred in January, when Atlantic Street announced it was bringing together its portfolio company Lombart, a leading U.S. distributor of ophthalmic instruments, with Marco, a market leading, high-tech instrumentation supplier, as VMAIL reported. 

Staley joins Advancing Eyecare with more than 24 years of global operating experience in health care, technology and manufacturing companies, including most recently as chief executive officer of United Scope, a private equity-owned global provider of microscopy and optical solutions. He also has led vision care companies for more than a decade in the Americas, Europe, and Asia Pacific. Staley served as president of Signet Armorlite, a business unit of Essilor, and chief operating officer of Performance Optics, a global ophthalmic lens manufacturer recently sold to Hoya Corp.

Staley is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy with a degree in physics, and holds an MBA from Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.

“We couldn't be more delighted with the appointment of Brad,” Atlantic Street Capital managing partner Andy Wilkins said in the announcement. “He is a results-oriented, high-integrity leader with an excellent track record of improving service levels, operational efficiency, sales results, and increasing value across a range of PE-backed businesses. Brad's background and experience, combined with the high quality assets and team at Advancing Eyecare, will bring accelerated benefits for our customers, both in terms of service levels and overall value.”