About the WAEH

The World Association of Eye Hospitals is the global association of stand alone eye hospitals or eye departments of general hospitals.

The Members of the Executive Board of the WAEH:

• The Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, Melbourne, Australia
  Represented by Mr. Brendon Gardner
  Chair of the Executive Board of the WAEH
  
  

Brendon has a proven record in delivering patient focussed services and in actively promoting consumer and volunteer engagement.  Brendon has had a career in Health Service Management for a period of over thirty years, holding Executive positions for the past 15 years.  Prior to becoming the CEO of the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital in September 2019, he was the Executive Director, Operations (Chief Operating Officer) at Peninsula Health for a period of 9 years.

Brendon’s qualifications include a Bachelor of Applied Science (Medical Record Administration) and a Masters of Health Administration.  He has been a senior lecturer at Monash University and has co-authored publications on case-mix funding, clinical costing and the use of data to enhance the management of services.

• Moorfields Eye Hospital (London, UK)
  Represented by Mr. Martin Kuper
  
  

Dr Martin Kuper joined Moorfields as chief executive in September 2021, with more than 10 years of previous board experience as medical director and deputy chief executive in London hospitals.

Martin’s clinical background was in anaesthesia and critical care. Martin was a National Clinical Advisor on ‘Enhanced Recovery’ pathways to optimise recovery from surgery, and led implementation across London. In previous roles Martin also supported rapid mobilisation of critical care capacity during Covid-19, led a major multicentre study on intraoperative fluid monitoring, and pioneered Same Day Emergency Care. Martin moved into management to fulfil his passion for optimising patient outcomes by transforming clinical and operational processes. At Moorfields his ‘excellence programme’ is implementing a strategy to transform the discovery, development and delivery of eye care.

• The Rotterdam Eye Hospital (Rotterdam, The Netherlands)
  Represented by Mr. Jos Hubers
  

  

• The Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute
  Represented by Mrs. Cathy Kowalewski
  
  
  

• St. Erik Eye Hospital (Stockholm, Sweden)
  Represented by Sten Kjellström
  
  Sten Kjellström, PhD senior physician in ophthalmology and today head of the business area of ​​endocrine health care, skin care, reproductive medicine and eye care at Skåne University Hospital, has been appointed as the new CEO of St. Erik’s Eye Hospital. Sten Kjellström has broad national and international experience in the field of eyes and of leading various types of care activities including highly specialized care.
  

• Kellogg Eye Center (Ann Arbor, USA)
  Represented by Professor Christine Nelson – Incoming chair of the WAEH (Per October 2025)
  
  

• Hoftalon Eye Hospital (Brasil)
  Represented by Mr. Rodrigo Hasegawa
  
  
  

• Jakarta Eye Center (Jakarta, Indonesia)
  Represented by Dr. Tjahjono
  
  
  

• Aier Eye Hospital Group (China)
  Represented by Elaine Zhang
  
  

  Ms. Yongmei (Elaine) Zhang, possessing over 20 years’ experience in healthcare industry, specialising in strategy and development. Currently she serves as the Vice President of Aier Eye Hospital Group Co., Ltd. (AIER). She also holds directorship positions across multiple overseas listed companies and subsidiaries within AIER Group, and is one of the core members of AIER’s Innovation & Investment Committee.

  Since joining AIER in 2014, she’s been instrumental in establishing AIER’s global market presence, successfully extended the business to the North America, Europe, Southeast Asia and beyond. Through a comprehensive global ophthalmology ecosystem that she has fostered, the overseas business of AIER has been doubled in recent five years.

  Before AIER, Elaine worked in PwC and spent two years in PwC global healthcare team since late 2009 across Shanghai and New York offices. 

• King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital & Research Centre (Saudi Arabia) 
  Represented by dr. Abdulaziz bin Ibrahim AlRajhi
  
   
  

• Singapore National Eye Centre (Singapore)
  Represented by Professor Tin Aung
  

• • MBBS(S’pore), MMed(Ophth), FRCS(Ed), FRCOphth, FAMS, PhD (Lond)
  • Chief Executive Officer (Medical Director), Singapore National Eye Centre;
  • Chair, Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences Academic Clinical Program, Duke-NUS Medical School;
  • Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple Professor of Ophthalmology, Duke-NUS Medical School;
  • Associate Dean, Office of Research, Duke-NUS Medical School;
  • Group Director, Research (Scientific), SingHealth;
  • Senior Consultant, Glaucoma Dept, Singapore National Eye Centre.
    

• Clínica Oftalmológica Pasteur (Chili)
  Represented by Santiago Venegas Díaz

Santiago Venegas, Chilean, Civil Industrial Engineer, Universidad Católica Valparaíso, Chile, MBA Ilades / Loyola University in Maryland, USA, other postgraduate degrees in management at U. De Chile, Georgetown University and University of Cambridge.

He has held various positions as senior manager, board member and CEO of public and private hospitals.

Speaker, lecturer in several international projects, congresses and seminars (USA, Europe, Asia, Oceania and Latin America) on hospital projects, strategy and management in the healthcare industry. International consultant in the development of hospital projects in public-private partnership (PPP) in Brazil, Peru, Costa Rica, Bolivia and Chile.

Mentor of startups and new businesses in technology companies, services, equipment in the health industry in Chile and Latin America.

He currently serves as CEO of Clínica Oftalmológica Pasteur, the main ophthalmology center in Chile.

• Hôpital National des 15-20 (France)
  Represented by Nils Avanturier
  

Mr.Nils Avanturier is an executive Director specializing in hospital management and public health policies. Currently serving as Deputy General Director and Director of Human Resources and Medical Affairs at the Hôpital National des 15-20, he oversees strategic projects, personnel management, and the development of partnerships. He has also acted as Interim General Director on multiple occasions.

His career has led him to hold key positions in public institutions, including serving as a Technical Advisor in the Prime Minister’s Office during the COVID-19 crisis and as Deputy Chief of Staff at the Île-de-France Regional Health Agency. He has also held various leadership roles within hospital groups, managing procurement, logistics, and financial strategy.

A graduate of Sciences Po Paris, Bocconi University, and the EHESP, he combines expertise in public affairs and hospital management with a strategic vision for the healthcare system

Board Member Emeritus:

• Singapore National Eye Centre (Singapore)
  Represented by Mrs. Charity Wai
  
  
  

• Tun Hussein On National Eye Hospital (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
  Represented by Mr. Dato Kulasegaran
  
  

Advisor to the Board:

• Mr. Wim Oosterom
  
  
  

  Advisor to the board of the WAEH, especially regarding the governance and strategy of the WAEH.
  
  Health economist. Untill retirement as partner of PwC, Global Public Sector leader of PwC, coordinating all the services of PwC to the Public Sector worldwide . 

  Member of several supervisory boards in the health industry.

Our mission

The mission of the WAEH is:

• To continuously improve the experience, care and outcomes of patients with eye disorders

The WAEH tries to achieve the above mission by:

• Facilitating and promoting the exchange of knowledge between eye hospitals worldwide
• Exchanging best practices in the planning, organisation and delivery of eye care services throughout the world

Global umbrella
The World Association of Eye Hospitals (WAEH) is the global umbrella body for regional associations of eye hospitals, like the European Association of Eye Hospitals (EAEH).