BCLA announces new chair

BCLA chair, Dave Webley

An optometrist with more than 20 years’ experience working in the eyecare industry has been unveiled as the new chair of the British Contact Lens Association (BCLA).

Dave Webley is currently senior marketing manager for One Day EMEA at CooperVision and will now lead the BCLA’s council in delivering “an ambitious and exciting work programme into 2024 and beyond”.

BCLA chief executive, Luke Stevens-Burt, said: “We are absolutely delighted to have appointed Dave as our new chair, and we very much look forward to working with him for an initial three-year period.

“The BCLA plays a highly specialised role within the broader optometry and optics professions, attracting high calibre eyecare professionals to our community. As chair, Dave will work alongside some of the most inspirational and influential people in eyecare as we continue to deliver a wide range of events, certificates and programmes for eyecare professionals around the world.

“The forthcoming publication of the BCLA CLEAR Presbyopia findings will be a major focus in the short-term, and we look forward to seeing the impact they will have on day-to-day practice.”

Dave is a member of the College of Optometrists and a BCLA fellow. He qualified as an optometrist in 2003, graduating from Aston University and has worked in primary care practice, academia, learning and development, and industry.

He has lectured internationally and delivered education to undergraduate and post-graduate optometric audiences. He has vast experience leading digital and virtual education programmes as well as orchestrating global, multi-language contact lens conferences.

Dave said: “Being named chair of an Association I am proud to be a member of is a huge honour and one that I aim to fully embrace. The BCLA has a truly global reach and the coming years present a major opportunity to introduce the Association to new territories while continuing to grow our membership base here in the UK.

“In order to grow and evolve as an organisation, the BCLA needs to enter a period of change. I’m relishing the opportunity to challenge the way it operates, and looking forward to working with visionaries from across all aspects of eye care to ensure the BCLA is fit for the future,” he added.