Pete Bridgman (l) and Srinivas Kumar.

MASON, Ohio—After two years as senior vice president and general manager of Pearle Vision, a division of Luxottica Retail (NYSE: LUX), Srinivas Kumar will be succeeded in that role by Pete Bridgman. The transition will take place mid-January 2014.

Bridgman has been the vice president of strategy and innovation for Luxottica’s managed vision care division, EyeMed Vision Care. “In his three years with EyeMed, Bridgman led the charge to drive innovation, data-driven decision making, and change management critical to EyeMed’s success in the marketplace,” a Luxottica spokesperson told VMail. “Bridgman brings a customer-centric point of view and deep understanding of the overall optical industry and vision care services that will continue to keep Pearle Vision an optical brand to watch in 2014.”

This announcement follows Pearle Vision and Kumar being named among the “20 to Watch” in Franchise Times’ January 2014 edition. In it, Kumar, formerly president and COO of Baskin-Robbins, was described as a “turnaround expert” who applied his methods to Pearle Vision. Among his accomplishments during his tenure with Pearle Vision was the unveiling of a new prototype store design, as reported by VMail September 11, 2013; a national rebranding campaign, as reported by VMail April 19, 2013; and an initiative to convert Pearle’s corporate-owned stores to franchises, as reported by VMail Jan. 21, 2013.