J. Keith Lomas is a British businessman, and Group President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the contact lens manufacturing and licensing group of companies UltraVision CLPL

UltraVision

UltraVision CLPL is a contact lens manufacturer, with headquarters based in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, England. UltraVision CLPL also has a Research and Development office based in Cambridge, England...

.

Business life

He was appointed Managing Director of CLPL in 1996. After leading the successful acquisition of UltraVision International in 2003, he was appointed as Group President and CEO. The combined group is one of the largest independent manufacturers and suppliers of contact lenses in Europe.

Prior to his involvement in the contact lens world, Lomas was an investment banker and senior trader in the City of London

City of London

The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...

. He worked at S.G. Warburg and then Kleinwort Benson

Kleinwort Benson

Kleinwort Benson is a leading Private Bank that offers a wide range of financial services to private and corporate clients from offices throughout the United Kingdom and Channel Islands. The bank has its headquarters on St George Street in Mayfair, and is supported by seven UK regional and two...

, followed by Daiwa Europe, now part of Daiwa Securities Capital Markets.

Awards

On 21 April 2006, the 80th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II, his group UltraVision CLPL was awarded the Queen's Award for Enterprise: Innovation 2006. The award was granted in relation to their patented aberration control and wave front contact lens design technologies and licensing. Lomas and business partner John Clamp were invited to Buckingham Palace for an audience with Queen Elizabeth II, with Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, in attendance.

This award is the highest honour that can be bestowed on a UK company and follows from earlier successes being awarded the Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers

Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers

The Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London, UK.The Company was founded by a Royal Charter of Charles I in 1629 AD; it was granted the status of a Livery Company in 1809...

 Award for Innovation in British Optics 2001 and The European Federation of the Contact Industry (“EFCLIN”) Technology Award 2001.

The Queen's Award for Enterprise: Innovation, was again bestowed upon UltraVision CLPL in 2010, specifically for its KeraSoft

KeraSoft

KeraSoft is a patented range of soft and silicone hydrogel contact lenses designed to manage the condition of irregular corneas including keratoconus...

 range of contact lenses for irregular corneas including keratoconus

Keratoconus

Keratoconus , is a degenerative disorder of the eye in which structural changes within the cornea cause it to thin and change to a more conical shape than its normal gradual curve....

.

Entrepreneur and investor

With close links to and investments in Cambridge technology companies, Lomas opened up his group's research and development centre there in 2007.

Lomas has highlighted the challenges from supermarkets such as Tesco

Tesco

Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...

 and online retailers from supplying contact lenses to the public, urging independent practitioners to review their business strategies accordingly to compete.

To support entrepreneurial activities and innovation, Lomas is active and vocal about the advantages of small and large businesses partnering together.

As a keen Rugby Union

Rugby union

Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

 supporter, through his group's partnership with The Professional Rugby Players' Association

The Professional Rugby Players' Association

The Rugby Players Association is a trade union representing athletes who currently play or have played rugby union in England at a professional or semi-professional level. Established in 1998, it was originally called the Professional Rugy Players' Association ; in October 2009 it changed its name...

, Lomas is active in supporting players using the latest technologies to maximise their vision for increased success.

In a number of technology companies, his fellow directors and investors include John Clamp, Dick Newell

Dick Newell

Dr. Richard G. Newell has spent over 30 years in the software industry in Computer aided design and Geographic Information Systems .Dick holds degrees in Civil Engineering and Numerical Analysis and a PhD in Chemical Engineering....

, Mark Diskin (co-founder of Alta Berkeley Venture Capital) and David Harper (Executive Chairman of Flytxt Ltd.)