CHARENTON-LE-PONT, France—At Essilor International’s (Reuters: ESSI.PA) combined Ordinary and Extraordinary Annual General Meeting, held yesterday in Paris, shareholders approved Maureen Cavanagh’s appointment as representative of employee shareholders to the company’s board of directors.

Cavanagh, an American, is president of two of Essilor’s U.S. subsidiaries, Nassau Lens Company and OOGP, a buying group. Her appointment to Essilor’s board will help to broaden international representation and increase the diversity of the board, which has two members from Asia and Europe amongst its other representatives of Essilor employee shareholders, Essilor said. North America currently represents almost 35 percent of the group’s sales, according to Essilor.

“We are happy to welcome Maureen Cavanagh to the board as a representative of our employee shareholders,” said Hubert Sagnieres, Essilor’s chairman and CEO. “Her involvement is a reflection of the deep-rooted and ongoing commitment of Essilor’s employees to the governance of the Group. Employee share ownership is a key factor in the success of the business and has been an integral part of Essilor’s culture for several decades, as a means of motivating and retaining employees’ throughout the world.”

Cavanagh is also a member of the Executive Committee of Essilor of America. She moved to Essilor from Johnson & Johnson in October 2005, following Essilor’s acquisition of its ophthalmic lenses business, “The Spectacle Lens Group.” Since May 2012, she has represented the Essilor Employee Shareholders’ Association in the U.S. and is a member of the Board of Valoptec Association.

Essilor’s shareholders approved all of the resolutions put to the meeting, including the reappointment of Mireille Faugere, Yves Chevillote and Xavier Fontanet as members of the board.