Plano Appoints Yongqiang (John) Cao as New CEO to Drive Global Myopia Management Solutions

SingaporeJanuary 22, 2024PR Newswire -- The Board of Plano, Singapore, announced today that Mr. Yongqiang (John) Cao will succeed Associate Professor Mohamed Dirani as the company's new CEO, effective March 1, 2024.

John currently serves as the General Manager of Plano's China branch, Lanuo Technology (Hangzhou) Co., Ltd. Under his leadership, the company successfully localized its products to meet the needs of the Chinese market and advanced the commercialization of Plano’s myopia management solutions. Under his guidance, Plano received two significant innovation awards from the Hangzhou Science and Technology Bureau in China. John is a Singapore citizen residing in Hangzhou, China. He graduated from INSEAD (Institut Européen d'Administration des Affaires) and has 15 years of extensive experience in international strategic management and cross-border business.

Professor Mohamed Dirani, Founding Managing Director of Plano and Adjunct Associate Professor at Duke-NUS Medical School, will continue to serve as Chairman of the Board and as an advisor to the Scientific and Innovation Advisory Committee. He stated, "I am delighted to see John's accomplishments and have full confidence in his leadership of Plano’s teams in Singapore and China. Particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, his exceptional leadership at Plano China makes him the ideal candidate to drive the company’s future product and business development."

John expressed his gratitude for his appointment: "I am very grateful for this opportunity. In China, myopia has become a major concern for many families, and there is a huge demand in the market for scientifically effective management solutions. I look forward to collaborating with the team to make Plano a leading online platform in the field of children's vision health management, and to promote the development of China's children's myopia management industry."

Plano, founded in Singapore at the end of 2017, is the first spin-off project from the ophthalmic technology incubation program of the Singapore Eye Research Institute (SERI) and the Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC). As the winner of the 2020 Galen Growth award for the world's most innovative health tech start-up, Plano aims to help families better manage their children’s myopia through user-friendly, science-based technological solutions and education. Currently, around 2 billion people worldwide are affected by myopia, and this number is expected to rise to 5 billion by 2050. The growing prevalence of myopia, especially among children in urbanized areas such as Singapore and China, presents a significant challenge.