Bernie Iliakis

October 1, 2020

As President and CEO of CorneaGen, Bernie is responsible for all aspects of the tissue services organization. Over his career, he has been responsible for the distribution of more than 150,000 sight restoring grafts to nearly 50 countries worldwide.

Bernie began his career in eye banking in 1995, when he joined SightLife as an eye bank technician. In 2003, he became the Chief Operating Officer overseeing all operations, including clinical services and quality assurance.  He transitioned to CorneaGen COO after its creation in 2016.  In early 2021, Bernie was promoted to President of the organization.

For 15 years he served on the Medical Advisory Board for the Eye Bank Association of America (EBAA), which creates and revises the medical standards that govern eye banking, and was an Inspector on the Accreditation Board for 15 years, which determines EBAA accreditation status of eye banks. In 2016, Bernie was honored by the EBAA with the Leonard Heise Award for his outstanding devotion to the field of eye banking.

Bernie has been a member of the American Association of Ophthalmology and American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery course faculty for Femtosecond Laser Keratoplasty.

Bernie received his master’s degree in Health Administration from the University of Washington and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Zoology, also at the UW.

Annie Thompson

July 1, 2022

Annie Thompson serves as Chief Financial Officer at CorneaGen, charting an overall course for financial strategy and systems. A finance veteran, she has 20 years of experience across multiple industries and companies of different sizes.

Annie first joined CorneaGen in 2020 as its Corporate Controller, making a tremendous impact in a short amount of time. Prior to CorneaGen, she held key roles in financial planning and analysis, SEC reporting, technical accounting at private equity backed and public companies, including A Place for Mom, OMADA International, Flow International Corporation and KPMG .

Annie is passionate about CorneaGen’s mission to transform how ophthalmologists treat and care for those with corneal disease. She strives every day at CorneaGen to achieve greater efficiencies, continual improvements, and smart growth through teamwork.

Originally from Kenya, Annie earned a Masters in Accounting from the University of Missouri. She has two children and dedicates time to educational causes such as Talia, seeking to empower young women and communities.

John Guckes

October 1, 2020

John Guckes is CorneaGen’s Chief Executive Advisor. John has over thirty years ophthalmic industry experience. He joined CorneaGen in 2016.

John is a former executive with Bausch & Lomb (Rochester, NY). He served in a variety of senior leadership positions which focused on commercial business development and geographic expansion in N. America, Asia and Europe. These included Vice President- Global Cataract Strategy, Vice President- Global Cataract and Vitreoretinal Equipment, Vice President and General Manager Global Instruments and Vice President Asia Pacific Commercial Operations.

John is recognized for his integrity and strong strategic and tactical leadership, for initiating and growing global businesses and the development and mentoring of ophthalmic business leaders throughout the world.

He serves on the Board of Directors for the Life Long Vision Foundation and the Advisory Board for the University of Missouri-St. Louis’ internationally recognized Global Business Institute. He is a former board member for the Eye Bank Association of America.

John holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree (Magna Cum Laude) and Masters in Business Administration, both from the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

Gretchen Coker

October 1, 2020

Gretchen currently serves as Chief Talent Management Officer. She comes to CorneaGen with more than 20 years of human resources experience.

With previous roles at companies such as Starbucks and Doubletree Hotels, Gretchen is an expert in supporting and setting corporate office policy, employee benefits and relations, as well as supporting international operations and development.

Gretchen received a Bachelor of Arts in Music from the University of Washington and a Master’s of Science in Human Resources Management from Chapman University in California. She is certified in both PHR, SPHR, and SHRM-SCP.

Bob Stevens

January 3, 2022