Nation's Largest Healthcare Organization Announces CEO Transition Plan

SACRAMENTO, Calif., May 11, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- VSP Global, the nation's largest healthcare organization by membership today announced that Jim McGrann, current VSP Vision Care President, has been appointed President and CEO of VSP Global, effective October 1, 2015.  Mr. McGrann will succeed Rob Lynch who has served as CEO since 2006.  

Following over three years in his role as President of VSP Vision Care, the nation's largest vision insurance provider, McGrann oversaw the growth of VSP's membership from 56 million to 75 million. McGrann also facilitated the expansion of VSP's insurance offerings into Great Britain and Ireland.  Additionally under McGrann's leadership revenue for the Vision Care division grew from $3.2 billion to a projected $4 billion by year end.

"Rob Lynch has been a transformational leader for VSP. He retires having laid a strong foundation for the future of our company and I am pleased that he will be continuing as a member of our Board of Directors," said Randy Lee, O.D. and Chairman of the Board.  "Jim McGrann has a clear vision for the future of VSP and the board is unanimously confident that he will maximize the opportunities that lay before us. Jim's focus on integration and capitalizing on the synergies of each of the divisions will yield tremendous benefits to our panel members, our clients and, most importantly for our 75+ million members."

Prior to joining VSP Global in 2008 as President of Eyefinity^®, McGrann served as Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer for nine years at Marchon^® Eyewear, Inc.  In 2010, he became VSP Global's Chief Technology Officer and Chief Executive Officer for Eyefinity. In 2012, he became President of VSP Vision Care. Before joining Marchon, Jim spent fifteen years as a management consultant and partner for Andersen Consulting, Price Waterhouse Coopers, IBM Global Services and Ernst & Young.

Always focused on finding ways to leverage technology to enable businesses, Jim has been a catalyst for change within VSP Global, leading key initiatives, including: web-based sales force automation, SAP implementation, supporting the development of a centralized European Distribution Center that consolidated seven operating units, and implementing IT governance and program management best practices.

"To ensure the continued success of any company, succession planning is a necessity and Jim was identified early on as a strong candidate to one day assume the responsibilities of this job," said Rob Lynch, outgoing President and CEO of VSP Global. "I am confident that Jim McGrann is the right leader at the right time with the right expertise to continue VSP's growth for years to come."

McGrann assumes the role of a more diversified company than the VSP Lynch took the reins of in 2006.  Lynch oversaw the evolution of VSP into a vertically integrated global company by executing on more than 30 different acquisitions.  Marchon^® Eyewear, Inc., the world's 3^rd largest manufacturer and distributor of eyewear marked the largest of those acquisitions, but other key components of the new VSP include: a unified network of laboratories that has evolved from two in 2006 to the 14 VSP has today as well as the addition of AcuityLogic™, a practice management solution that moved Eyefinity^® into cloud computing in 2010. Lynch departs his management role within VSP Global having guided the company to becoming a projected $5 billion revenue company by year end.

"Since 2006, Rob has doubled VSP's revenue while also remaining committed to the company's mission of helping people see by nearly tripling the number of low-income and uninsured children and adults who have received free eyecare and eyewear to the over 940,000 today," said Jim McGrann, VSP Global's President and CEO-elect. "From this position of strength, I look forward to further delivering on that mission and continuing to reimagine how eye care and eyewear are delivered for years to come around the world." 

About VSP Global
VSP Global® unites industry-leading businesses to bring the highest quality eye care and eyewear products and services to help people see across the globe. VSP Global businesses include not-for-profit VSP® Vision Care, the largest vision care company with more than 75 million members and a network of 32,000 eye doctors in the U.S., Australia, United Kingdom, Canada and Ireland; Marchon® Eyewear Inc., one of the three largest global manufacturers, designers and distributors of quality fashion and technologically advanced eyewear and sunwear; Eyefinity®, the largest EHR and premier practice management software company for the eye care industry; VSP Optics Group, industry leaders in new lens technologies, production processes, service and logistics; and VSP Retail, delivering a memorable consumer experience through a variety of channels that meet the diverse needs of VSP customers. VSP Global businesses operate in 100 countries on 6 continents.

SOURCE VSP Global