META Appoints Darren Ihmels as Vice President of Business Development Ophthalmics

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HALIFAX, NS / ACCESSWIRE / July 23, 2021 / Meta Materials Inc. (the "Company" or "META®") (NASDAQ:MMAT) a developer of high-performance functional materials and nanocomposites, today announced it has appointed Mr. Darren Ihmels as Vice President Business Development Ophthalmics. Mr. Ihmels brings over 30 years of experience in opthalmic products, sales, manufacturing, equipment, and services for prescription lenses and smart augmented reality (AR) applications. He will be focused on growing META's ARfusion™ technology, which combines precision cast lens fabrication tools and functional metamaterials and volume holograms, to provide META's AR wearable developers with a platform for seamlessly integrating smart technologies into thin lightweight prescription glasses.

"To develop a commercially successful augmented reality eyewear business, it is necessary to elegantly combine the attributes of fashionable, lightweight and comfortable prescription eyewear with embedded smart technologies and displays," said George Palikaras, President and CEO of META. "We are fortunate to have someone of Darren's breadth of experience join our team as we commercialize the ARfusion™ system."

Mr. Ihmels joins META from Google. Previously, from 2016 to 2020, he was Director, Opthalmic Lens Manufacturing for North, Inc. From 2009 to 2015, he was a Vice President in several sales roles and VP Manufacturing for FYidoctors, Canada's largest eyecare provider. From 2001 to 2009, Ihmels was National Service Manager for Visionix, a part of the Luneau Technology Group, a provider of equipment for vision correction. From 1995 to 2001, Ihmels was National Manufacturing Director for Pearle Vision in Canada. He began his career with LensCrafters in 1989, where he rose to the position of Lab Manager.

"I am excited to join a fast-paced and highly innovative environment like Meta Materials. I look forward of applying my 30 years of experience in the ophthalmics industry, including some pioneering work in the last decade in smart glasses for augmented reality applications, to help META expand its business into this key high growth market," said Darren Ihmels.

For more details about ARfusion™ and META's ophthalmics roadmap, please refer to our latest blog post.

About Meta Materials Inc.

META® delivers previously unachievable performance, across a range of applications, by inventing, designing, developing, and manufacturing sustainable, highly functional materials. Our extensive technology platform enables leading global brands to deliver breakthrough products to their customers in consumer electronics, 5G communications, health and wellness, aerospace, automotive, and clean energy. Our achievements have been widely recognized, including being named a Global Cleantech 100 company. Learn more at www.metamaterial.com.

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