William C. Thomas

Mergers don't always go smoothly. But according to CEO William C. Thomas, the new Vision Council of America (VCA) -- the product of last fall's union between the Optical Industy Association (OMA) and the Vision Council of America (VICA) -- has avoided any bumps with proficiency and relative ease. "I think the two missions are very compatabile," he says.

What do you think is the greatest asset you bring to VCA?

Experience working with various organizations, some small, some large. I'm a quick decision maker. I've assembled a pretty good staff and Susan Burton has assembled a good staff, so we've brought those groups together.

Where would you like to take VCA?

Since it is member-driven, I want to take it where they want to go. I want to be able to implement their strategies, objectives, and goals.

This has been a merger on many levels: Ideals, philosophies, and personnel. How has each of these been going?

I think both the philosophies and the goals are really complementary and not exclusionary. Certainly VICA had been concerned with consumers and professionals. OMA was concerned with supporting the members, and addressing any and all issues that came up in the industry. We originally decided to move in the early part of 2000 and then it became apparent that it would be much better to move the staff together as quickly as we could. There was space for us at the former VICA offices and in a space of about three weeks we planned to move and executed it. Everyone seems to be happy.

What is the greatest challenge for the optical industry?

There is obviously the new competition that is out there in almost every industry. Company consolidations, mergers and acquisitions that we also see going on. Also, the things that are nibbling away -- managed care, the use of ready readers, and laser surgery -- these are all influencing the industry as we march into the 21st century. The industry is becoming a much more global industry. I think we're going to see some more vertical integration in some of the distribution chains.

How do you think they're going to be able to meet them?

Be proactive as opposed to reactive. I think we need to set our goals on continuing to provide quality eyecare and eyewear to the consumer. We need to continue to cooperate with the professionals in the delivery of those things.

How does optical compare with the aviation industry?

The aviation industry went through many of the things that the optical industry is going through, but did it 10 to 15 years ago. That's when they became global in their approach, they partnered a lot with international partners, and they merged and acquired each other.

What is the strongest asset of VCA?

People: Both the voluntary leadership and the members, the BVI professionals, and the staff. They are committed to completing the mission of the VCA and its goals and objectives. EB