New President of ICO

HughTaylor ICO

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hugh R. Taylor, AC, MD, succeeded Bruce E. Spivey, MD, MS, MEd, as President of the International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO) on April 7, 2014. The official transition of power occurred at the end of the 2014 World Ophthalmology Congress (WOC) of the ICO in Tokyo, Japan.

“It has been an honor and privilege to help the ICO grow and strengthen. In January 2013, the ICO Board of Trustees elected my friend and colleague, Dr. Hugh Taylor, as the next ICO President, and I am pleased to leave the ICO in such capable hands,” said Dr. Spivey.

Dr. Taylor is well positioned to further the ICO’s commitment to build a world alliance for sight. He is internationally recognized for his leadership in trachoma and other initiatives to limit avoidable vision loss. Dr. Taylor’s early experience reviewing Pakistan’s eye care services on behalf of the World Health Organization led him to take up the challenge of convincing health bureaucrats and governments to take vision loss seriously and demonstrating why––with limited and competing health dollars––eye care must be made a global priority.

“Dr. Spivey’s leadership as ICO President has served as an excellent example, and I will continue to steer the ICO in the same direction: broadening and improving ophthalmic education and access to quality eye care around the globe,” said Dr. Taylor. “I especially look forward to working with the ICO Member societies––which represent more than 200,000 ophthalmologists around the world. Through this partnership, the ICO will continue to grow and strengthen as an organization, improving access to the highest quality eye care in order to preserve and restore vision for the people of the world.”