Safilo Group Names Delgado as New CEO

 
Luisa D. Delgado
PADOVA, Italy—Safilo Group (SFL.MI) has announced that Luisa D. Delgado will be appointed as the new CEO of Safilo Group and Safilo Spa, effective Oct.15, 2013 in a succession plan for current CEO, Roberto Vedovotto.

Vedovotto will maintain his position on the Safilo board of directors as a non executive at that time. Delgado, 46, is currently a non executive Safilo board member.

She is also currently a member of the global executive board and chief human resources officer of SAP AG and a non executive director at INGKA/IKEA. Before SAP she spent 21 years at Procter & Gamble (P&G) where she worked in several local and international roles in Portugal, the UK, Belgium, Switzerland and Sweden.

In her last role at P&G as vice president and CEO, Nordic region she was responsible for the turnaround of the P&G business in the Nordic region, taking the lead in digital marketing.

The company said, “The Board of Directors expresses its utmost gratitude to Roberto Vedovotto for his leadership, dedication and tremendous work he has done to improve the future of the company.”

Delgado will join Safilo Group on Sept. 15, 2013.


Hoya Names Gregg Fowler VP of Sales and Marketing

LEWISVILLE, Texas—Hoya Vision Care has appointed Gregg Fowler as vice president of sales and marketing. Fowler, who will be based at Hoya’s corporate office here, will manage and lead the HOLA (Hoya Optical Laboratories of America) sales and marketing efforts. Fowler will be taking over for Rich Montag, who is retiring in July after a distinguished 40-year career in optical.

Fowler previously worked at Alcon Laboratories, serving in a variety of cross-functional roles that spanned sales, sales management, marketing, managed markets leadership and executive sales leadership. He began his career with Procter & Gamble, where he held various sales positions.


Davis Vision Adds Mallonee and Childs as VPs of Sales

DALLAS—Davis Vision, Inc. has named Scott Mallonee regional vice president for national accounts and Chris Childs regional vice president of sales for the western division. Both will be based here.

Mallonee brings over 15 years of experience in health care with expertise in customer service, sales and account management, most recently with Buck Consultants, where he served as vice president, global client solutions practice. He will be responsible for national corporate accounts and will provide support to the account management team.

Childs joins Davis with over 20 years of experience in health and welfare, leading sales teams throughout the western half of the country with many carriers, including Cigna, Humana, Ameritas and most recently Sterling, where he served as regional vice president of the South and Midwest. He will be responsible for leading his team to execute sales and growth of vision care solutions to new clients and partner relationships.


ABB Optical Group Appoints Dari VP of Sales

CORAL SPRINGS, Fla.—ABB Optical Group has hired Michael Dari as vice president of sales. He will lead the recently combined sales teams of ABB Concise and Optical Distributor Group (ODG). Dari brings 18 years of experience with Johnson & Johnson, 15 as strategic account director within the Vistakon division. Most recently, he was national account business director at Ortho Clinical Diagnostics (OCD), a Johnson & Johnson company, where he led a team of 12 managers and oversaw daily business operations.

ABB Optical Group is the new name for ABB Concise and Optical Distributor Group, after the two companies merged at the end of last year. The individual companies will be fully integrated into ABB Optical Group later this year.


Henry Joins Essilor International’s Executive Committee as Chief Strategy Officer

 
Lena Henry
CHARENTON-LE-PONT, France—Lena Henry has joined Essilor International as chief strategy officer. A member of the executive committee of Essilor, she reports to Hubert Sagnieres, chairman and chief executive officer. In this position, Henry will focus on strategy development for the Group, in particular regarding the identification of new development opportunities, as well as on strategic planning and execution. Henry was previously a partner at McKinsey & Company in London, where she focused on serving retail and consumer goods clients.




Kenmark Names Hambleton Director of Global Marketing and Communications

LOUISVILLE, Ky.—Kenmark Group has announced that William Hambleton will be joining the company as director of global marketing and communications, reporting to David Duralde, chief creative officer of Kenmark.

Hambleton has 15 years of experience in the managed health care industry and several years of retail, service and technology consulting. He has led marketing units accountable for communication, engagement and retention for 5 million members and business development groups prospecting 50 million consumer markets. His most recent work involved measurement design, statistical analysis and predictive modeling to create dynamic research and real-time infographics for entertainment industry clients.

At Kenmark, Hambleton will lead efforts to activate and amplify the Kenmark brand, and its growing license and product portfolio.

Ogi Eyewear Names Larson and Underwood to Sales Team

   
 Eric Larson  Jessica Underwood
MINNEAPOLIS—Eric Larson and Jessica Underwood have both been promoted to the newly created position of senior sales consultant for Ogi Eyewear, according to an announcement from the company. Their new responsibilities will include recruiting and training new sales reps and overall sales management. They will also be a part of the committee that is involved in new product development.

Underwood graduated from the University of Missouri where she received a Bachelor of Science degree. This past January marks her 10th year of service with Ogi Eyewear. Larson is a graduate of Gustavus Adolphus College. He has been in the optical sales industry for 17 years, nine of which have been with Ogi Eyewear.

Legacie Appoints Gelabert Director of International Sales

 
Nick Gelabert
NEW YORK—Legacie Accessories, the luxury house of B. Robinson, has announced the appointment of Nick Gelabert to the position of director of international sales covering the Caribbean, Central America and South America. Gelabert joins Legacie with an extensive luxury background in those markets and will be based in Miami. “Further expanding into international regions and offering partners direct support is very important to the luxury eyewear sector,” said Robert Tsai, executive vice president of international sales for Legacie.


 

Live Eyewear Promotes Bramblett to Customer Service Manager

 
Johnna Bramblett
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif.—Live Eyewear, Inc. has promoted Johnna Bramblett to the position of customer service manager. In her new role, Bramblett is responsible for the development and management of Live Eyewear’s account manager and customer service team. Previously, Bramblett was a territory account manager.






Smith Optics Expands Sales and Marketing Departments

KETCHUM, Idaho—In anticipation of growth in the sunglass and optical markets, Smith Optics has announced several new sales and product development staff changes.

Effective immediately, Lindsey Johnson has been appointed to the role of international business development manager for Smith Optics reporting directly to Blair Clark, senior VP of sales and marketing. In her new position, Johnson will develop and implement the Latin American and Pacific Rim sales channels for the brand. Johnson had served as product line and category manager for helmets.

New regional sales managers have also been appointed. Scott Oliver, former general manager for Oakley Canada and most recently with Easton-Bell, will oversee the Central territory. Mark Phares was promoted from his role as general manager of Smith MX to preside over the Western region after his transition of moving Smith’s motocross business from a distributor based model to direct sales reps with the support of Smith MX sales manager, Brady Rodriguez.

Smith veteran, David Currier, was also promoted to the role of general manager of the brand’s optical division where he can provide focus to the growing demands of the optical channels. Currier and his team recently hired 12 new optical reps. ■