In a moment that drew applause and admiration from Ghana’s top business and political leaders, Dr. Michael Ekuoba Gyasi, Executive Director of St. Thomas Eye Hospital, was honored as CEO of the Year in Health Care – Eye Specialty at the 2025 Ghana CEO Summit. The prestigious ceremony, held at the Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast City in Accra on May 26th, was graced by none other than His Excellency President John Mahama, who personally presented the award.
But this accolade was more than a celebration of professional excellence—it was a powerful recognition of a life dedicated to restoring sight and transforming lives across Ghana and West Africa.
Dr. Gyasi is not just a leader in healthcare; he is a visionary who has revolutionized eye care in a country where advanced ophthalmic procedures were once a luxury afforded only by those who could travel abroad. Under his stewardship, St. Thomas Eye Hospital has become Ghana’s premier multi-specialty ophthalmic group practice, home to eleven top-tier eye specialists across four locations in Accra, Tema, and Kumasi, with a fifth branch opening soon in Takoradi. Each center is a beacon of hope for patients who once believed their vision was lost forever.
One cannot speak of Dr. Gyasi’s impact without acknowledging the stories of thousands whose lives have been changed under his leadership. From young people whose lives are threatened by early blindness from glaucoma to elderly patients with diminishing vision from cataracts, macular degeneration among oothers St. Thomas and its branches have one of Ghana’s most advanced clinics for sight preservation and restoration.
Since introducing modern phacoemulsification cataract surgeries, commonly called laser cataract surgeries to Ghana in 2011, St. Thomas Eye Hospital has continued to push the boundaries of what is possible in Ghanaian healthcare. In 2013, it became the first institution in the country to offer advanced vitreous and retinal detachment surgeries using the state-of-the-art Constellation Vision System, a service previously only accessible overseas.
Most recently, the hospital has installed Ghana’s first Twin Star SLT/Yag Combo Laser—a technological milestone in the treatment of primary open-angle and angle-closure glaucoma, two of the world’s most prevalent forms of the disease. This offers glaucoma patients in Ghana access to enhanced eye pressure management with effective slow-down of the disease’s progression.
As President Mahama presented the award, he was seen in deep conversation with Dr. Gyasi. Though the details of their discussion remain private, the President had earlier touched on the significance of institutions like St. Thomas Eye Hospital in saving the nation the cost and burden of seeking care abroad
In his quiet humility, Dr. Gyasi accepted the honor not for himself alone, but for his dedicated team and the thousands of patients whose lives give meaning to their work. “Our success,” he said, “is measured not just in surgeries performed, but in futures restored.”
The 2025 Ghana CEO Summit, themed “Leading Ghana’s Economic Reset: Transforming Business and Governance for a Sustainable, Futuristic Economy,” emphasized leadership that drives real change. Dr. Gyasi and St. Thomas Eye Hospital embody this ethos—not only raising the bar for healthcare but also proving that business success can walk hand-in-hand with deep social impact.
