Ophthalmology Management: Can you discuss your role as senior vice president, president, global franchises at Alcon?
Julie Brewer: In my role at Alcon, I’m responsible for shaping our global strategy and leading the surgical and vision care franchises, including portfolio management, product development, and product launch preparation. That means helping set future innovation priorities, and guiding portfolio and investment decisions across areas like cataract, retina, glaucoma, refractive surgery, pharmaceuticals, and ocular health.
It’s an especially important time to be doing this work as eyecare needs are growing rapidly around the world and there are many product innovation opportunities. For example, cataract cases continue to rise as populations age, myopia rates are increasing globally, and conditions like dry eye disease are becoming more prevalent with increased screen use and lifestyle changes.1-4
Day to day, I work closely with my colleagues around the world to make sure we’re investing in technologies that solve real clinical challenges and fit seamlessly into how surgeons and eyecare professionals actually practice. At the end of the day, my focus is about helping our teams deliver bold innovation that improves patient outcomes and gives eyecare professionals greater confidence in the care they provide.
OM: How do you aim to accelerate advances in digital health, R&D, and franchise development?
JB: For us, acceleration really starts with focus and discipline, but also with how deeply digital is embedded in everything we do at Alcon. Digital plays an integral part of how we innovate, how we manufacture, and how we create efficiencies for both our teams and our customers.
Across the company, we’re leveraging technologies—from generative AI and machine learning to advanced analytics—and unlocking predictive insights that help us operate smarter and more effectively. The digital mindset is across every function, from R&D and manufacturing to marketing and customer service. We have teams of data scientists and engineers working alongside clinicians and product leaders to help advance eyecare outcomes in very practical ways.
We also bring digital innovation directly to our customers and patients. In vision care, that includes Marlo, our online ordering platform for contact lenses and over-the-counter eyecare products. In surgical, Adi, our digital platform within the Alcon Vision Suite, is a great example of how we are using digital to enhance operational efficiency and reduce friction in clinical workflows.5 Through solutions like Intelligent Service Solutions, we’re embedding connectivity and service capabilities into our platforms to improve reliability and proactively support clinics.
OM: Can you discuss your commitment to mentoring women in leadership and fostering an inclusive team culture?
JB: Advancing women in leadership has been a consistent priority for me, and it’s something I care deeply about. Over the course of my career, I’ve seen firsthand how intentional mentorship and sponsorship can open doors, build confidence, and accelerate leadership development—and those lessons continue to guide how I lead today.
One of the things that has been especially energizing since joining Alcon is seeing how the organization champions key initiatives like our Women Innovating Now (WIN) employee resource group, which develops women through mentoring, networking, and leadership opportunities across chapters around the world.
As I continue to get to know the team, my focus is to build on that strong foundation by mentoring women leaders, sponsoring emerging talent, and fostering high-impact team cultures where people feel supported, challenged, and encouraged to grow. When teams are inclusive and diverse, they make better decisions, innovate more effectively, and ultimately deliver better outcomes for patients and the eyecare professionals we serve.
OM: Last year marked several new launches for Alcon. Can you discuss how these innovations are impacting clinical practices and empowering surgeons?
JB: 2025 was a terrific year for Alcon, and I experienced the buzz around our many new products firsthand when I joined the team on the ground at ESCRS. In the United States alone, we’ve launched many breakthrough products in surgical equipment, intraocular lenses (IOLs), contact lenses, and pharmaceuticals.
Just to name a few of these innovations, Unity VCS/CS represents a transformation in surgical workflows by bringing vitreoretinal and cataract capabilities into a single, integrated platform. PanOptix Pro builds on a proven trifocal IOL platform with light utilization and reduced light scatter, helping surgeons deliver a full range of vision with enhanced visual quality for patients.6-9 *,**,† Tryptyr marked an important milestone as our first pharmaceutical launch since becoming an independent, publicly traded company in 2018.
What ties all these innovations together is their impact in addressing areas like efficiency and patient benefits. Collectively, these innovations empower surgeons with tools that elevate care while fitting into real-world practice. Being at the American Academy of Ophthalmology last year underscored our impact. Being at Hawaiian Eye recently, it was great to hear a surgeon comment on the positive impact Unity VCS has on staff efficiency and patient experience.10 The ability to launch such a meaningful technology is a powerful reminder of the importance of our work. For all launches, we welcome feedback from our customers to help optimize our existing offerings where possible or to drive future innovation.
OM: Is there anything else that you would like to discuss?
JB: We’re gearing up for an equally exciting 2026 with more product innovations across our businesses. But innovation at Alcon isn’t just about launching products, it’s about supporting them. Training, service, and digital enablement are critical to ensuring new technologies deliver real-world value.
Looking ahead, we’ll continue investing in areas where unmet needs remain high, always guided by evidence, safety, and the voices of the surgeons and patients we serve. We hope to be the partner of choice for eyecare professionals and their patients, as well as companies that want to advance their innovation to help people see brilliantly. OM
*Based on manufacturer reported values and respective methodology for Clareon PanOptix, Envista Envy, AT Elana, Gemetric, and Rayner.**Compared to Clareon PanOptix. PanOptix has 88% light utilization (12% scatter light)/PanOptix Pro 94% light utilization (6% scatter light).
†Compared to Clareon PanOptix.
References
- Wittenborn J, Rein D. Forecasting the prevalence and costs of vision problems. Prevent Blindness; 2014. Accessed January 29, 2026. https://preventblindness.org/wp-content/uploads/ 2020/04/Future_of_Vision_final_0.pdf
- Market Scope. 2021 Refractive Surgery Markets Report; 2021.
- Market Scope. 2023 Dry Eye Products Markets Report; 2023.
- The Relationship Between Dry Eye Disease and Digital Screen Use - PMC (nih.gov).
- Zavodni Z, Pan LC, Mok K, Cheng H, O'Boyle D. End-to-end impact of a cloud-based surgical planning system on efficiency in cataract surgery: a time-and-motion study. Clin Ophthalmol. 2023;17:1885-1896. Published 2023 Jul 3. doi:10.2147/OPTH.S392669
- Alcon data on file, 2024. [REF-25222].
- Alcon data on file, 2024. [REF-25221].
- Alcon data on file, 2025. [REF-25218].
- Alcon data on file, 2015. [REF-08546].
- Unity VCS and CS User Manual.