# Monty Montoya

> Monty Montoya is the founder and former CEO of CorneaGen, a former SightLife CEO and a founder of Aurion Biotech. Based in Kirkland, Washington, his public professional profile now centers on Monty4Sight and executive coaching, team building and strategic planning. His career includes a nonprofit turnaround, the creation of a commercial subsidiary and subsequent executive, board and advisory roles.

- **Role:** Executive coach and advisor at Monty4Sight
- **Organizations:** Monty4Sight, CorneaGen, SightLife, Aurion Biotech, TherOptix, Holland Foundation for Sight Restoration, SCOPE, Stableyz, Sofia Biologics, Ophthalmic World Leaders
- **Education:** Bachelor of Science, Arizona State University, MBA, Duke University - The Fuqua School of Business
- **Known for:** Led SightLife during its growth into an international organization., Founder and former CEO of CorneaGen., Founder of Aurion Biotech.

## Career timeline

- **1997** — Joined the organization that became SightLife during a period of financial difficulty.
- **2003** — Earned an MBA from Duke Fuqua; became SightLife CEO in 2003, according to the 2017 leadership transition report.
- **2014** — Received the EY Pacific Northwest Entrepreneur of the Year award in the Life Sciences category.
- **2015** — SightLife participated in Duke’s Change Academy with partner organizations.
- **2016** — SightLife created its commercial subsidiary, SightLife Surgical, later known as CorneaGen.
- **2017** — Focused on leading the commercial subsidiary as Claire Bonilla became SightLife CEO.
- **2019** — Led CorneaGen when it raised a $37 million Series B; received OWL’s Visionary Award.
- **2021** — Appointed TherOptix CEO in July; appointment announcement also identified him as an Aurion Biotech founder.
- **2022** — CorneaGen’s April fact sheet listed him as Founder & Strategic Advisor.
- **2024** — Monty4Sight role began in April, according to The Org’s professional biography.
- **2026** — Media MICE reported roles at SCOPE, Stableyz and Sofia Biologics during its Hawaiian Eye conference coverage.

## Achievements

- Led SightLife during its growth into an international organization.
- Founder and former CEO of CorneaGen.
- Founder of Aurion Biotech.
- EY Pacific Northwest Entrepreneur of the Year, Life Sciences, 2014.
- OWL Visionary Award, 2019.
- Listed as an OWL mentor in 2019.
- Named as an influence on Brian Wright’s decision to pursue an MBA.

## Latest updates

- **2026-04** — Media MICE’s Hawaiian Eye 2026 coverage identified Montoya as a SCOPE non-executive director, Stableyz CEO and Sofia Biologics COO and board member.

## Links

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/monty-montoya

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/monty-montoya
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-23