NEW YORK—With a compelling speaker roster now in place, The Vision Monday Leadership Summit culminates in October this year in two dynamic sessions which explore how new market forces, unleashed and amplified by the global pandemic, are rewriting the fundamental rules of customer/patient engagement for both retailers and healthcare providers. Part of the series of VM Leadership Summit sessions that started earlier this spring, the Oct. 20 and Oct. 27 virtual programs are themed "Retail and Healthcare: UPENDED! Ripping Up the Rulebook."

Registration is still open for both of these virtual events. All details for registration are posted here. Registration includes attendance to the virtual broadcasts, full access to the VM Summit virtual platform, networking, on-demand viewing, door prizes, and exclusive access to attendees-only content after the event.

The two-hour virtual program of Part 1 of Retail and Healthcare: UPENDED! on Oct. 20 includes:

Rebuilding Trust

Shock and aftershocks of the pandemic and the restoration of business and a growing range of new attitudes among patients, providers, health systems and business has laid bare cracks in the system and an awareness of the social safety net. It’s up to business, government and healthcare to repair these ruptures. This session includes Dr. John Whyte, chief medical officer, WebMD, who has conducted 300+ video interviews with health and business leaders on this topic.

Jennifer Hauser, who heads Edelman’s Wellness 360 business unit, discusses key findings from the influential Edelman Trust Barometer, an annual, global survey of consumer attitudes. These two leading healthcare voices will examine how the pandemic has put patients’ trust to the test and what providers can do to counter the challenge of widespread misinformation.

Remote Possibilities

Escalated by the pandemic, consumers and patients are demonstrating their openness to using new technologies to redefine their own sense of wellness and take care of their own health, and to connect with healthcare providers in new ways to build relationships and promote healthier outcomes. This session explores how new remote monitoring systems and wearables are directly involving the patient in managing care with their doctors.
 
We’ll get an overview of key trends in this arena from Grey Group’s Ankit Vahia, PhD, executive strategy director, health and wellness. We’ll hear about new remote monitoring technology’s potential in the vision care space with Dr. Mohamed Abou Shousha, founder, Heru and Kerri-Lynn Morris, Microsoft and from John Serri, co-founder and president, EyeQue. Then Grey’s Vahia will moderate a panel discussion with these speakers, plus Amir Khoshnevis, OD, chief medical officer, Vision Source.

What Has Healthcare Learned From Retail?

The pandemic accelerated and raised awareness of what’s meant by “access” and “convenience” for patients who need to better manage their health and benefit from new services and technologies in new ways. “Patient-centric” healthcare is taking much inspiration from retail businesses who know how to leverage customer knowledge and preferences to create a more interesting, engaging and dynamic customer-centric experience. Nerdery’s Mukesh Pitroda will discuss what healthcare providers and brands are learning and adopting from successful retailers, as new formats emerge.
 


 Melissa Gonzalez, founder/CEO, Lion’esque Group

The two-hour virtual program of Part 2 of Retail and Healthcare: UPENDED! on Oct. 27 includes:

What’s The Store For?

Leading innovative design and customer relationship expert, Melissa Gonzalez, founder/CEO, Lion’esque Group is a well-known retail influencer, helping brands and retailers create novel experiences which integrate the digital and the physical and bring customers into a immersive experiences which are now driving excitement in "new" physical store environments.
 
Welcome To The Metaverse! A New Destination for Shoppers and Brands

Prepare to enter a new world, the parallel and imaginative realm of the metaverse is challenging ideas of learning, retailing, experience and brand messaging in a range of fields from gaming to fashion to sports to socializing, music, film and culture. This is a fast-take intro about this new phenomenon and what everyone needs to know about how AR, VR and new tech is going to change, well, everything!
 
We’ll see a special video created for the VM Leadership Summit by consumer technology expert and VEG Group founder Robin Raskin, plus a conversation with two experts: Chick Foxgrover, EVP, Technology & Innovation of 4A’s and noted metaverse retail and branding expert Cathy Hackl. They will share their insights with VM’s Andrew Karp about the potential of the metaverse and the opportunities it offers brands.


 
 
Mick Hall, vice president Bard Optical.
 Brian Chou, OD, Revision Optometry.
 

 
 
Aaron Schubach, CEO, Standard Optical.
 Michael Bender, CEO, Eyemart Express.
 
How ECPS and Retailers Are Embracing Rapid Change, A Special Panel Discussion
 
Influential “vision voices” discuss how their companies and practices are prioritizing investment decisions around current challenges in their practice such as staffing, telehealth and implementing new technologies to improve efficiency and enhance the patient experience.

Vision Monday's Marge Axelrad will moderate this discussion with Mick Hall, vice president Bard Optical, Brian Chou, OD of Revision Optometry, Aaron Schubach, CEO of Standard Optical and Michael Bender, CEO, Eyemart Express.

Both virtual sessions extend the 2021 VM Summit series of conversations and presentations under the theme "Creative Disruption," held earlier this year. They were "VirtualEYZE!," first held in June, which was a focused look at the opportunities for telehealth to expand eyecare's boundaries, and "ALL CONSUMED," held in August, a deep and fascinating dive into the new consumer mindset in a lot of areas. Each brought great and different speakers plus enlightening conversation from ECP/retailer panels. Registered users can access these On-Demand, in full or in part, through the end of the year.

VM Leadership Summit registration includes attendance to the virtual broadcasts, full access to the VM Summit virtual platform, networking, on-demand viewing, door prizes, and exclusive access to attendees-only content after the event.

All those attendees previously registered for what was to have been a live Sept. 22 event in Las Vegas have been automatically registered for the two-part virtual event in October. Those ECPs who previously registered for the June and August event will be automatically registered for the October two-part virtual events.

New registrations are available at no charge for optometrists, opticians, ophthalmologists and students. New registrations are available for $198 to non-ECPs.

The Platinum Sponsors of the 2021 VM Leadership Summit are EssilorLuxottica, Healthy Eyes Advantage-PECAA and VSP Global Premier Program. The Gold Sponsor is The Vision Council's Vision Health Alliance and the Silver Sponsors are Alcon and Ocuco.