Outlier’s Insights

It is our great privilege to be joined by not only one of the world's most influential ophthalmologists, but also a great friend, Professor Gus Gazzard, as we deconstruct how struggles and success are related in our lives. Gus is as decorated, talented and renowned in his work of ophthalmology and his trials in glaucoma, as he is as wise, humble and honest as a friend. We open up about stress, regret, success, balance and all things life and work. We're very gratefully to and for Gus for joining us and bringing his honesty and experience that has really helped us, our perspectives and our motivation. Thank you Gus.

We are delighted to be joined by Dr Francesco Carones. Francesco is undoubtedly the James Bond of Ophthalmology as well as a world-renowned refractive cataract surgeon, with his practice, Advalia Vision, in Milan. The title of this episode is Mission for Perfection which epitomises Francesco’s motivation for perfection. A perfectionist in all aspects of life, Francesco also shares his thoughts about perfect vision, and how this varies from person to person, as well as discussing many aspects of his life. From his love of cooking and insights into his success to what has motivated him in the past and continues to do so. Thank you, Francesco for a truly insightful and entertaining episode. 

We are delighted to be joined by Dr Shezh, who has an incredible history and journey which he shares openly with us. Shezh arrived in the U.S. as an illegal immigrant, and had many obstacles to overcome both personally and professionally. He describes how he has used and overcome these obstacles to such great effect and that resilience and grit is such an important determining factor for his success. We discuss philosophical issues as well as Shezh's career thus far. Tune in for a truly inspiring episode. Shezh thanks for being such a great guest.

On this special episode of Outlier's Insights, Paul switches sides and shares and reflects on his very personal recent health journey. Joined by Ike Ahmed, we explore health, life and taking care of ourselves.

We are delighted to invite Allon Barsam, director and co-founder of OCL Vision to Outlier's Insights Podcast. Allon talks about the importance of teamwork and building a team culture both professionally as well as from personal experience in sports and home life. Allon is an internationally respected figure in the field of ophthalmology, he talks with great wisdom and experience in the subtle and intricate ways that working as a team can achieve great results. Along the way there is great banter and jokes as always in this podcast. We hope you enjoy the episode.

Ben and Gok are joined by Artemis Matsou and Nikolina Bodimlija for an honest, insightful, and at times humorous conversation about being women in male-dominated spaces. Drawing from their own experiences, they explore the challenges, growth, and impact of navigating leadership roles in environments where they’ve often had to push against the grain. Together, they unpack the differences in how leadership is experienced by men and women, and offer thoughtful reflections on what true inclusivity in the workplace can—and should—look like. This candid discussion invites listeners to reflect on their own roles in fostering equity and creating space for diverse leadership.

We are delighted to be joined by the King of Brand as well as the King of Charm and Charisma, Ali Mearza, on this episode. Ali talks to us about the first steps he made in creating a personal brand and how this has evolved over time. He also discusses the differences between personal brand and company brand and the nuisances about navigating these subtleties. Ali is such a great personality in ophthalmology and we delighted to hear his insights on branding and much, much more.Hope you enjoy the episode. 

In this episode of Outlier's Insights, we are delighted to be joined by the President himself, none other than David Lockington.  David, as always, gives an honest, no holds-barred opinion on how to burn bright and not out. David is an excellent example of someone who is doing things the right way in ophthalmology, and inspiring the next generation of ophthalmologists to achieve their potential. Listen in as Gok Ratnarajan and Ben LaHood question the great David on achieving a work-life balance - or as he puts it, 'a life-work balance'.