Marlon Neil has been at VSP^® and Eyefinity^® since November 2022, but he has nearly three decades of experience in technology spanning companies of all sizes. This includes IBM, where Marlon worked on the Watson project—one of the first real-world examples of artificial intelligence—which presented an intersection of healthcare and technology. Marlon focused on helping develop Watson's ability to diagnose different types of cancer—a mission that hit close to home, since he lost both his parents to the condition.

He remains deeply connected to technology’s ability to improve health outcomes, which motivated him to come to Eyefinity.

"I come with my broader technology experience to help drive the mission at hand, and I appreciate Eyefinity's sense of community and corporate responsibility," he says.

Today, Marlon is responsible not only for technology that intersects with healthcare, but also innovation that intersects with security, stability, and compliance. He and his team balance what can be done with what must be done, to keep practices both on the cutting edge and compliant with regulations.

When it comes to Eyefinity Encompass^TM, Marlon takes a holistic approach in his role as senior director of enterprise technology. Whenever he walks into an eye care practice, he tries to get a bird's eye view of the whole experience, from patient management to pretesting to processing claims. He takes what he notices back to his team and uses these observations to inspire staff- and patient-friendly features.

For example, a busy single parent can try on frames virtually and check their insurance coverage ahead of time, so two important decisions are set before they even go in for an exam. This efficiency also trickles down to practice staff, since the patient has all the info they need before they come in.

"I’m excited for software that will make the entire process easier, not only for practices but also for patients," Marlon says.