Bart Foster – CEO & Founder

  twitter.com/Bart_Foster

Bart Foster is a proven entrepreneur with over 14 years of international sales and marketing experience in the consumer products industry. Prior to founding SoloHealth, Bart worked at CIBA VISION, the Eye Care division of Novartis AG. There he held a variety of leadership roles in sales, marketing and management both in the U.S. and Europe, most recently as national account director. In 2006 he was awarded the Entrepreneur of the Year Award for developing the EyeSite® business venture. Prior to CIBA VISION, Bart was director of sales for Peachtree Network, a successful Internet start-up based in Montreal, Canada. While there, he completed an IPO on the Canadian Venture Exchange. Bart began his career with Kellogg’s in consumer marketing and sales. In 1998 he was awarded the “Golden K” (Salesmen of the Year) for his entrepreneurial efforts in the Foodservice channel.

Bart has a B.S. in marketing from the University of Florida. He has an MBA in global management. Bart was recently elected to the Board of the Foundation for Eye Health Awareness and serves on the Board of Prevent Blindness Georgia. Most recently Bart was named one of the top five CEO's to watch in 2010 by Self Service World and was featured on CNBC and Forbes.com.

Stephen Kendig – Vice President of Operations and Development

Stephen Kendig has a successful track record of leading new product development initiatives from ideation through commercialization. His teams have spanned global marketing, supply chain, manufacturing, R&D engineering, and market research, as well as clinical, regulatory and legal divisions. Prior to SoloHealth, Mr. Kendig was employed by CIBA VISION, a Novartis Company. During his last seven years at CIBA VISION, he held various R&D positions of increasing responsibility, including research, process engineering, new product development and global project management. Within this leadership role, he managed a new product portfolio of over $200 MM; led the recent European launch of AIR OPTIX ™ contact lenses for Astigmatism and global launch of Air Optix Aqua; transferred five new product initiatives from the R&D labs to multi-million unit, >100 MM units/annum, production; and expanded current production capacities. While at CIBA VISION, he filed five patent disclosures and was awarded the 2006 executive award.

Stephen has a Mechanical Engineering degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He received his master’s degree in business administration from Georgia State University, where he was the recipient of the Norman R. Harbaugh Scholastic Achievement Award, presented to one MBA student who demonstrates the greatest potential for leadership.

Tony Sommer – Vice President of Sales and Marketing

  twitter.com/tsommersolo

Tony Sommer brings to SoloHealth 20 years of management, sales, and marketing experience in the consumer packaged goods and eye care industries. Following his military service, Tony was trained in classical marketing management at General Mills and Coca Cola, where he worked on brands like Colombo, Betty Crocker, Minute Maid and Hi-C. In his marketing leadership roles at CIBA VISION, the eye care unit of Novartis AG, Tony was responsible for “best in class” marketing teams on the company’s largest brands, producing outsized share and sales gains in the marketplace and winning the coveted Distinguished Performer Award. Upon promotion to senior sales management at CIBA VISION, Tony led the successful commercialization of four new products in the eye care space, driving distribution and consumer preference with major accounts across the United States.

Tony has a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Air Force Academy and an MBA from the Meinders School of Business at Oklahoma City University. His business and military experience span North America, Europe and the Middle East.

Eric Hoell – Director of Research and Development

  twitter.com/ehoell_solo

Eric Hoell brings over 19 years of software engineering experience to SoloHealth. Prior to joining SoloHealth, Eric worked for NCR where he served as the vice president of development in NCR’s Retail division. At NCR Eric held numerous leadership positions within NCR's Food and Drug and Quick-Service Point of Sale development teams. Eric’s experience in developing self service, point of sale, and back office applications spans all aspects of the software development lifecycle. Eric has a proven record of successfully leading the development of complex solutions, custom development, quality assurance, deployment and installation, and support organizations. Eric holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Hofstra University.

Kevin Lavery, M.D. – Chief Medical Officer

Dr. Lavery is an ophthalmologist with TLC Eyecare and Laser Centers of Michigan where he is medical director. TLC has developed a statewide referral based network and is one of the largest providers of eye care services in the Midwest with 14 locations. Dr. Lavery was the development director and founding chairman for Blake Woods Medical Park Surgery Center, the largest provider of cataract surgery in the State. He is a consultant to several ophthalmic companies and has been an FDA investigator for many new Intra-ocular lens designs.

Dr. Lavery has a teaching appointment at Kresge Eye Institute, Wayne State University and is a Visiting Faculty with ORBIS International where he has taught eye surgery around the world. Currently Dr. Lavery is chairman of the board to Jackson County Community Foundation and past chairman of the Jackson Fitness Council, the Department of Surgery at Doctor’s Hospital, and on the board of the YMCA.