Leading an established market leader in refractive surgeries is no easy task but for a determined and visionary young woman, it is a challenge worth taking. Sandy Tan joined Optimax Eye Specialist more than two years ago and today, she is leading the organisation as its Chief Executive Officer with exciting plans to further enhance the Optimax brand.

She is a law graduate and was also an image consultant in the fashion industry. Today, she is leading Optimax Eye Specialist to greater heights with its own full fledged specialists hospital in Kuala Lumpur that is coming up in a few years’ time.

It could be said that Sandy Tan was born into a world of privilege as the eldest daughter of Optimax founder Dato’ Tan Boon Hock but the position she held today speaks more of her capabilities in leading the organisation than her station in life. The eloquent 30-year-old has big dreams for the company and she is diligently working her way towards achieving it.

“In 10 years, we will be a full fledged hospital providing health care with the latest technology and the best in customer care,” she said of her vision for Optimax Eye Specialist. Even now, plans are underway to construct an Optimax Eye Hospital in Kuala Lumpur, just 10 minutes away from the headquarters in Mont Kiara.

Sandy first started her full time career in Optimax more than two years ago after brief stints in banking and the fashion industry. She first gained experience as a Capital Market and Equity Department Executive before becoming an image consultant and later, a buyer at homegrown fashion label British India where she honed an acute and irrefutable sense of marketing.

She joined Optimax as the Head of Marketing and this is one decision that she does not regret as she found it an exciting experience that sets the pace for her to assume her current role as the Chief Executive Officer. “I grew up learning about Optimax from my father when he came home and talked about work, so working here is an easy transition from my previous jobs,” she said.

She does not see her young age as a deterrent in fulfilling the heavy responsibility of leading Optimax but instead sees it as an advantage as she could work out marketing and branding that appealed to the younger generation. “Optimax has been around for 21 years so it is time to make it trendier now to appeal to the younger generation,” she said.

This was how the cute round-eyed blue Opti – the Optimax mascot – was introduced last year. It is one of the marketing methods, along with a comprehensive social media presence, introduced to push the Optimax brand further amongst the young and old.

Optimax today is a leading eye care specialist centre that provided eye care services from eye examination to laser vision correction. It is ISO certified and it is the recipient of Frost and Sullivan Award under the Eye Care Centre (Lasik) category. The eye care centre has served 100,000 satisfied patients to date with its team of in-house engineers and doctors specialising in vitreoretinal, cornea treatment and paediatrics.

Optimax, which adopts the Vision For Life programme and offers a lifetime warranty for patients, now has a private eye specialist hospital in Penang with two more centres in Sri Petaling and Ipoh.

However, it is not all about dollars and cents for Sandy when it comes to running Optimax. Corporate Social Responsibility is as important as growing the brand. “We do a lot of charitable programmes and we are starting a foundation to do Lasik for the poor,” she said. Optimax has also provided over 200 free cataract operations for poor patients. Optimax is also one of the sponsors of the WAKE program hosted by Agape Vision and regularly offers free eye checks to residents of various orphanages and old folks homes in the country.

Also, there are plans underway to collect preloved glasses disposed by Optimax clients and donate these glasses to orphanages and old folks homes in Penang. “Some of our clients who have their vision corrected do not need glasses anymore so we will collect all these glasses, change the lenses and donate it to children and senior citizens in those homes,” she said.

It is without a doubt that under Sandy’s leadership, Optimax Eye Specialist is heading towards a bright future as a company with a heart and an eye for the future.

OPTIMAX EYE SPECIALIST HOSPITAL (PENANG)
223, Jalan Masjid Negeri, 11600 Penang, Malaysia.
Tel: +604-282 3522 Email: penang@optimax.com.my
Business Hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 9am to 6pm