Optical Women's Association - 2023 OWA Pleiades Honoree

2023 Pleiades Award Recipient — Karen Roberts

Karen Roberts is Head of Global Customer Enablement for Carl Zeiss Vision International. In this role, she works closely with corporate and local commercial teams to assist customers with bespoke business solutions and after-sales technical and business support.

The optical industry has been Karen Roberts' passport to the world. During her 38-year career in optical, she has lived and worked in Australia, Asia, Europe, and the U.S., and currently resides in Adelaide, South Australia.

Her career spans leadership roles in R&D, operations, new product management, and business development. An active participant in leadership and strategy forums within both ZEISS and the broader industry, Karen has also contributed to two Harvard Business School case studies on disruptive technology and large-scale change management.

Roberts' passion for optical is driven by the positive transformation that good quality eyecare and eyewear have on the quality of people's lives. "New technologies and the innovative solutions they enable are expanding access and driving better outcomes for people in need".

She has been active on the executive board of The Vision Council for over 10 years and has been chair for the last 2 years. "It's been an interesting time, helping steer TVC through the worst of the pandemic and be better positioned and more relevant to the industry as it evolves". She is appreciative of the strong team at TVC and grateful to her extremely competent and engaged executive board colleagues.

Roberts was named one of Vision Monday's "Most Influential Women in Optical" in 2017. She sees influential women advancing all facets of the optical business, bringing with them a strong emphasis on listening, customer focus, and collaboration. She continues to be inspired by how diverse and interesting the optical business is and amazed at the rapid evolution of the industry with new technologies.