John Breakwell BSc FBOA FSMC joined as a junior in 1974, working his way up to become a partner. He has led the business since 1985, adding a third practise (B.S. Breakwell Optometrists, Warwick) in partnership with his wife Beverley in 1999. Mr Breakwell is a former Chairman of the Local Optometric Committee for Warwickshire, and, as a long-serving examiner for British College of Optometry, he has overseen the final assessments for most of the optometrists qualifying in the UK since 1979. Once a week, Mr Breakwell works as Senior Optometrist at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire, specialising in contact lenses, and initiated the first diabetic retinal screening programme for the county.