BLOG: One of the good guys retires
It took me 3 weeks to get out of my COVID-19 funk. For all of the kind words sent my way over the years about what (and how) I write, the reality is that I write (as) well (as I am able) when I am in a happy(er) place. Quite frankly, I miss my people, both here in Cleveland and across the country. So, what got me out of my funk? Well, thinking about some of those people, especially the nicer ones.
Like Cal Roberts of Bausch + Lomb.
I’m not gonna lie — when I heard that Cal was going to retire on March 31, before the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery meeting, I was more than a bit bummed (and maybe a little salty) that he would not get the grand send-off that he deserved. Anyone who has read my drivel over the years knows that I have been quite comfortable pointing out the multitude of missteps made by B+L. It should be noted that pretty much all of them have been on the commercial side of the ledger, though. B+L has continued to create products on both the pharma and surgical side that are a boon to physicians and patients alike. As chief medical officer for the last 9 years, Cal Roberts has been the steady hand at the wheel guiding these products from their birth in the lab and into the marketplace.
Plus, I wanted to gloat in person that no less than The Wall Street Journal agreed with me on the whole pharmacy benefit manager/pharma pricing mess! (Cal called me out at a meeting on that.)
Cal has retired from B+L, and quite frankly the whole eye care world is the lesser for his departure. He’s not leaving entirely, though. He is already at the helm of the Lighthouse Guild, arguably the most famous low-vision services organization in the United States and an essential business that is helping clients in New York City during the pandemic. When I caught up with him, he was at his desk, hard at work in his new gig as CEO. Cal and his wife have lived in NYC for decades. How cool that his new job is in his hometown.
Happy trails, Cal. Our loss is the Lighthouse’s gain.
Disclosure: White reports he is a consultant to Allergan, Shire, Sun, Kala, Ocular Science, Rendia, TearLab, Eyevance and Omeros; is a speaker for Shire, Allergan, Omeros and Sun; and has an ownership interest in Ocular Science and Eyevance.