Management

Executive Team

The QSpex Technologies management team consists of highly experienced executives with a proven track record of product discovery, development and revenue growth in the vision care industry.  Prior to founding QSpex, members of the senior management team held key leadership roles at major vision care companies including Ciba Vision, Alcon, Allergan, Essilor and Bausch and Lomb, helping to generate hundreds of millions of dollars in sales of innovative vision care products.

Kai C. Su, Ph.D, Founder, Chairman and Chief Scientific Officer. 
Kai Su has worked in the vision care industry for over 31 years and is an expert in the field of polymer chemistry.  He is the founder and former President & Chief Executive Officer of Technology Resources International (TRI).  TRI was founded in 1995 as a spinout from the advanced technology division of Ciba Vision Corporation.  Before starting TRI, Dr. Su spent 21 years leading research and development groups at Ciba Vision, Alcon Laboratories and Bausch & Lomb.  During the span of his career, Dr. Su has generated over 100 eyecare-related patents and numerous technical publications.  Dr. Su is responsible for the technologies used in a number of successful vision care products, including Alcon’s Opti-Clean contact lens cleaning product and Ciba Vision’s Softcolors line of colored contacts lenses.  These products represent hundreds of millions of dollars in annual sales at various major companies for whom he has worked.  In 1996, he was awarded the Contact Lens Manufacturers Association Trailblazer Award for outstanding achievement in product development to the enhancement of the industry.  Dr. Su has a Ph.D. in polymer chemistry from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn (NY) and a BS in chemistry from Tamking College (Taiwan).

John B. Lowery, President and Chief Executive Officer. 
Over the course of his career, John Lowery has founded or co-founded and led multiple entrepreneurial ventures.  Prior to joining QSpex, Mr. Lowery was a founder and principal with Walden Development Group, a real estate investment and development firm that averaged an over 30% annual return on outside investment.  Mr. Lowery also has over 10 years of management consulting experience, most recently with McKinsey & Company.  Mr. Lowery holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a BBA in Economics from The University of Georgia.

Ronald J. McGhay, Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing. 
Ron McGhay has over 25 years of general management, sales and marketing experience in the ophthalmic and optical products industries.  Mr. McGhay’s past experience includes President of the Silor lens division of Essilor International, the largest optical company in the world.  As President of Silor, Mr. McGhay was responsible for the development of strategic direction and P&L management of the ~$168M division.  During his tenure as President, he orchestrated a complete pipeline of new ophthalmic spectacle lens products and increased premium brand sales by 17%, leading to a 4-fold increase in pre-tax profit contribution.  Prior to being appointed President, Mr. McGhay was Vice President of Marketing for Silor.  As Vice President of Marketing, Mr. McGhay built a new marketing organization (including a 60+ person sales force), which improved Silor’s market share by 7 share points to a record 34% of the US lens market.  Mr. McGhay was also previously President and CEO of CLC Development, Inc., a venture capital funded start-up that developed and marketed unique contact lens care products. 

Board of Directors

In addition to Mr. Su and Mr. Lowery, QSpex’ Board of Directors also includes three outside directors, Stephen M. Martin, Michael Owen and David Milam.


Stephen M. Martin.  
Steve Martin has been a director of QSpex, Inc since August 1, 2008. In 2001 Mr. Martin retired from Ciba Vision Corporation, a Novartis Company engaged in the research, manufacture and sale of contact lenses, lens care products and ophthalmic pharmaceuticals.  He founded Ciba Vision (lenses and lens care) in 1980 and the ophthalmic pharmaceuticals division, Ciba Vision Ophthalmics, in 1990. He and his team grew sales of the combined companies to over $1.2 Billion with more than 6,000 employees.   Mr. Martin is currently CEO Partner of Hi Tech Partners, LLC, a privately held consulting firm for executive management of early stage technology businesses.  Steve has personally successfully negotiated more than 70 licensing and acquisition deals with values ranging from $1 million to $320 million. He has assisted several start-ups in raising equity capital.  He has served as a director on the boards of numerous public and private companies. Mr. Martin currently is a director of La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company (LJPC-NASDAQ), NeoVista, Inc. (private), OcuCure Therapeutics, Inc. (private) and QSpex, Inc. (private). He is also an Observer representing the state of Georgia on the board of Visioneering, Inc. (private).  Steve is a graduate of Wake Forest University and attended the Woodrow Wilson College of Law. He holds 6 issued U.S. Patents for his inventions and a number of European patents. Steve was a Captain in the United States Marine Corps. He and his wife Judy now live in the North Georgia Mountains.

Michael Owen. 
Mike Owen is one of the original ‘Series A’ investors in QSpex.  Mike serves as president of Lusk Construction, Inc., a commercial construction company based in North Georgia.  He also serves on the board of directors of numerous organizations, including Habersham Banncorp, a publically traded banking and insurance company based in North Georgia.

David Milam. 
David Milam is one of the original ‘Series A’ investors in QSpex.  David holds both the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designations.  David is founder and president of Mallory Management Company, an accounting and financial advisory firm based in Marietta, Georgia.