Alan Tinger, Chairman
Alan is a Chartered Accountant and a Companion of the Chartered Management Institute.
In optics he is currently a Consultant to Optical Businesses, Member of the Executive of the Federation of Ophthalmic & Dispensing Opticians, Finance Consultant to the General Optical Council and Chairman of the LOC Support Unit. He was formerly Finance Director of Miller & Santhouse Plc, a Stock Exchange Listed Company and the then third largest chain of Opticians which was sold to Boots Opticians in 1990 and Managing Director and part owner of Galaxy Optical Services Limited, suppliers and consultants to Tesco Opticians.
Outside optics he is currently a Non-Executive Director of a number of companies, Chairman of a Registered Housing Association and Trustee of several welfare charities. He has been Managing Director of a listed company and partner in a firm of chartered accountants.
Sir Anthony Garrett, ABDO Chief Executive
Sir Anthony joined ABDO on March 1 1999, assuming his duties on December 20 2007.
Sir Anthony worked for the Conservative Party for 27 years where he rose to head of the Organisation in the Central Office, overseeing a major reorganisation.
Since joining ABDO he has overseen the re-location of the Association's headquarters to 199 Gloucester Terrace (from Hurlingham) as well as the formation of the ABDO College at Godmersham, Kent, which opened its doors to students in 2001.
In addition to organisational matters, he has concentrated upon improving the profile of the profession and sought closer co-operation with other optical bodies.
David Hewlett, FODO Chief Executive
David is Chief Executive of the Federation of Ophthalmic and Dispensing Opticians which represents the UK optical market. Before that he worked for 20 years in central Government, primarily in the Department of Health and Social Security, where he was the senior policy-maker on family health services, GP commissioning, a primary care led NHS and national health service frameworks.
Prior to that, David had trained as a medieval linguist lecturing at Montpellier and Cambridge Universities. He has a background in, and experience of, small business.
Mike Cody, ABDO Representative
Mike is a contact lens optician with 20 years experience in optics.
He manages the contact lens business for an independent, family-owned group.
He is a past director of the ABDO and also sits on Staffordshire LOC as the ABDO representative.
He also organises CET for ABDO area 5.
Kevin Thompson, AOP Representative
Owner and clinical lead of 25 optical practices in northern England and Scotland and Secretary for North of Tyne LOC. Currently AOP Director with responsibility for self-employed and member of Finance and Remuneration Committees, with specific interests in GOS compliance, development of “Quality in Optometry” and strategic planning.
Business interests outside the optical sector include construction, commercial waste, general retail, Post Office and music, with past involvement in Local Authorities and several charities and development agencies.
Currently Governor & Chairman of Finance for a federation of four schools.
Graham Ackers, LOC Representative
Graham is a Dispensing Optician employed by T H Collison Ltd, a family owned group in the South East as the General Manager. He has acted as Honorary Treasurer for the Surrey LOC for over 25 years and currently chairs the FODO Executive Committee and serves on Vision 2020 and the Optical Consumer Complaints Service.
He is married to an Orthoptist, so understandably his three children have decided that is one too many Optics and have gone into the areas of law and speech therapy.
Ian Jones, LOC/ROC Representative
Ian Jones has been involved in Optical Committees in South Wales since graduating from Aston University in 1983. He began working in the eastern Valleys and has slowly worked his way west, currently residing outside Cardiff where he was born and bred (apart from a six year sojourn in the Surrey "countryside" as a schoolboy).
He is a shareholder and Director with the Davies and Jones Optometrists group in South Wales and immediate past Chairman of South East Wales Regional Optical Committee was its Secretary for several years and a "ordinary" member for some years before that. He now chairs the Welsh Optical Committee, advisory body to Welsh government and belongs to several sub-committees relating thereunto!
He relieves stress by single-track mountain biking in winter, road-cycling in summer, walking Welsh mountains whenever possible, travelling to ludicrously priced hotels and reading copious quantities of historical tomes, usually relating to naval warfare 1780-1812. He is allowed to get away with it all by the current Mrs Jones.
Steve Mayer, LOC Representative
Steve Mayer is an optometrist, with his own independent practice in the North West.
He has a keen interest in therapeutics, gaining the Additional Supply qualification in 2006 and is currently working towards the Independent Prescriber qualification.
He is currently Chairman of the West Pennine LOC. Previously, he worked in Botswana where he was involved in development of eye care services in a busy hospital eye clinic.
Paul Carroll, FODO Representative
Through his role as director of professional services for the largest optical chain in the UK, Paul has been able to gain insight into the many challenges that are faced at all levels of business and all sizes of practice, when delivering primary eyecare services, including GOS, in the community. He is involved in professional development and training, workforce planning, quality and standards and professional regulation.
Paul is currently an appointed member of the national regulator for opticians (the General Optical Council). He is immediate past-chairman and a director of the Federation of Opticians (FODO).
He lives in Lancashire and maintains his involvement as optometrist partner in Specsavers practices in Southport and Formby.
Alan Lester, Company Secretary
Alan Lester qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1973 and is Company Secretary of the LOC Support Unit.
He is the Head of Finance at the Association of Optometrists having taken up this position in 2000.
After qualifying he joined Peat Marwick Mitchell and also worked with London firm, Moore Stephens, on a variety of audit assignments.
Prior to taking up his current position, he spent 18 years as Finance Director of a company handling marine insurance claims via a network of offices throughout the world and providing technical support to the London insurance market.
Keith Chapple, Central LOC Fund
Keith has been in independant practice, working as an (old-fashioned) sole practitioner since 1975. He attended College in Cardiff at the College of Advanced Technology originally, but soon changed to the Institute of Science and Technology. He qualified in 1970, gaining FSMC first, followed by FBOA.
He was solely responsible for bringing back into business the then defunct East Sussex LOC, and jointly responsible for doing the same with West Sussex LOC. He was Chairman of East Sussex for its first three years and Vice Chair of West Sussex for its first five years.
He was Chair of the Brighton and Hove AOP branch for twelve years, until it was wound up due to lack of interest from local practitioners. He has been an administrator of the Central (LOC) Fund for twelve years, and has been its Chair for the past year. Keith still services as a member of East and West Sussex LOCs, and is a firm believer in paying for professionals to take over responsibility for the posts of Secretary and Treasurer.
Invited Observer
Josephine Mullin, College of Optometrists
Josephine Mullin has been the Director of Policy and Strategy at the College since Autumn 2010. She joined the College in June 2006 as Director of Education after 12 years at the General Medical Council where she worked first quality assuring undergraduate medical school courses and subsequently developing assessments for overseas doctors and systems for revalidation.
Previously Jo had worked at the Inns of Court School of Law (now part of City University) developing selection processes for Bar students and at the University of London developing distance learning materials for External Students and, jointly with the Royal Institute of British Architects, for the continuing professional development of architects.