Committed to innovation

Mike Hale: What is your background in optics?

Rebecca Stoner: I needed sight correction from eight years of age and always wanted to be an optometrist because I had a fantastic optometrist who, to me as a child, solved all my problems. So my goal was to help people in the same way and give them the experience that I had. That’s why I think contact lenses are brilliant; you can instantly change someone’s life with contact lenses and working with them is where I’ve had most of the best moments of my career.

After qualifying from Bradford University in 2007, I worked in high street practice while also returning to the university to teach undergraduates contact lenses. In 2017 I made the move to working in the industry, joining Topcon GB as a clinical affairs specialist. In September 2019 I moved on to a global training role with Topcon Healthcare and had only been in the job five months when the first Covid-19 lockdown was brought in.