Bausch & Lomb appoints new VP and global president, vision care

ROCHESTER, N.Y. Bausch & Lomb on Monday named Peter Valenti corporate VP and global president, vision care, effective July 1.

Valenti replaces Stuart Heap, who has chosen to step down from his current role with B&L for personal reasons, effective June 30. Heap will remain an active strategic advisor to the company.

“[Valenti] possesses a mix of deep leadership experience, healthcare and eye health expertise, and has already made significant contributions to helping grow the B&L business during his brief tenure,” stated Gerald Ostrov, B&L chairman and CEO. “At the same time, we thank [Heap] for his significant contributions to the company as he chooses to spend more time with his family.”

Valenti joined B&L in January 2009 as president, North America, vision care. Before being named to that role, Valenti served as VP and GM, surgical devices (U.S.), for Covidien, where he led the U.S. sales and marketing strategy for the $1 billion product portfolio from 2007 to 2008.

In conjunction with Valenti’s transition to his new role, the company has named Steven Robins as president, North America, vision care.

Robins joins B&L with approximately two decades of consumer healthcare experience at leading companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer and Warner Lambert. Most recently, he was GM, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Healthcare Canada, and a VP of the Johnson & Johnson Consumer Group, with responsibility for a number of health and beauty brands such as Listerine, Reach, Band-Aid, Stayfree and Purell.