How often do you hear the CEO of a successful and fast growing national corporation talking about having a “noble cause or purpose” as being a core corporate value? Probably not as often as Tampa has hosted the Super Bowl . Meet Lorna Taylor, Founder and CEO of Premier Eye Care, a national managed eye company that provides and manages routine, medical and tertiary ophthalmic care to over 2 million insured citizens with annual revenue of $60M.
In 2013, Lorna’s commitment to her employees earned Premier Eye Care recognition as Best Companies to Work for by Florida Trend Magazine. She was also recognized by the Tampa Bay Business Journal as Business Woman of the Year in Health and Wellness and was given the Angie Award for best exemplifying commitment to community service. Upon receiving the awards, Lorna noted, “It’s a thrill to be recognized for the company’s success, which is a function of how well our team performs and works together. And I am humbled by the Angie’s Award, knowing that contributing to our community is as important as the success we achieve in business.”
The ethic of care for people and the planet with which Lorna guides Premier Eye Care was planted in childhood by Lorna’s mother and nurtured while attending Princeton Theological Seminary where she earned a Master’s of Divinity. In addition, Lorna’s deeply held belief in the critical importance of diversity and the global empowerment of women to eradicate poverty was influenced by her work with Green Peace in the past and her current involvement with the Green Belt Movement in Africa founded by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Wangari Maathai. This commitment to diversity is seen in the companies gender balance in leadership roles, as well as, the company’s commitment to diversity. “We know that we are better and stronger as a business if there are diverse voices and experiences on our team”, said Lorna Taylor in a recent interview.
Lorna’s leadership is manifested in the shared vision echoed by associates — excellence and quality are a required baseline, leadership is valued over management, and self-direction is the immediate next step after compliance. Profit is important, and Premier is highly profitable, but Lorna and the Premier associates live their belief that profit should not come at the expense of people or planet. They also believe that corporate social responsibility is not like a coat that one pulls out when needed and puts on – instead, it part of their corporate DNA and every decision made and action taken is done within that ethical framework.
A story that captures Lorna’s compassion and her drive to succeed is that of her rescue in 2006 of a 26 year old woman from the Congo, whose family had been murdered and who had endured gang rapes by the Congo DRC. Lorna coordinated efforts with Amnesty International (AI), Human Rights Watch, The International Presbyterian Church, The Greenbelt Movement, and, the United Nations Commission on Refugees. With their help, the young woman was escorted out of the Congo DRC and eventually found safety under the sponsorship of Santa Ana Presbyterian Church.
People who know Lorna describe her as eloquent, uber-intelligent, compassionate, authentic, with a love of travel and a great eye for art and design. She is an accomplished and respected business leader, who continually strives for excellence and remains, most of all, dedicated to the wellbeing of people and the community.
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