FORT WORTH, Texas—Alcon, a global leader in eyecare, has announced the appointment of Roger Lopez as region president Alcon Japan, effective Jan. 1. Lopez succeeds Jim Murphy, who is retiring from the company after a distinguished, nearly 25-year career with Alcon, according to the announcement earlier this week. Lopez is an experienced executive who has worked across multiple geographies, including Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA), Asia and the U.S. He will report to Ian Bell, president international, and join the Alcon executive leadership team (ELT), according to the announcement.

Murphy, who earlier this year had expressed his intention to retire, plans to spend more time with his growing family, which is primarily located in the Boston area. Both he and Lopez will closely work together over the next several weeks to transition Japan leadership.

“Japan is critical to Alcon’s bright future, and Jim has been a tremendously effective leader fixing the foundation and turning the business around,” Bell said in the statement. “We’re fortunate to have Roger and his vast experience of successfully driving business strategy and execution to seamlessly take on this important role. I know Roger will build upon Jim’s success and that he and the team will continue to cultivate excellent customer relationships, bolster the winning internal mindset, and drive business growth.”

As VMAIL reported, Alcon’s parent company, Novartis (NYSE: NVS), announced in June that it intends to spin off Alcon into a separately-traded standalone company, which is expected to occur in the first half of 2019.

Lopez, who began his career at Novartis in 1994 when he joined CIBA Vision Spain, for the past two years has served as area vice president of emerging markets with EMEA. Under his leadership, the business has delivered outstanding growth while also improving regional customer relationships, the announcement noted. Prior to his current role, Lopez held senior leadership positions within Asia, including vice president Asia Cluster Head and vice president South Asia and Pacific. Previously, Mr. Lopez was general manager of Alcon for the U.K. and Ireland.

Alcon chief executive officer David Endicott commended Murphy on his tenure with the company in the statement issued this week. “I’d like to extend my heartfelt thanks to Jim for all the many impactful contributions he has made to Alcon,” Endicott said. “Jim has always achieved all that we asked of him and more. His tenure leading the Japan region is no exception and we will benefit from the rich legacy he leaves with Alcon.”