Transitions Optical

Brett Craig will assume the responsibility of president, Transitions Optical, Inc, effective Jan. 1, 2008. In this role, Craig, who is currently acting as chief operating officer, will drive Transitions' business strategies, including strengthening partnerships with Transitions' customers, to meet ongoing growth objectives. Craig was named COO in June 2006. He joined Transitions in July 1999 as managing director, Asia Pacific, and then moved to managing director, EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa), where he played a key role in positioning the EMEA businesses for continued growth.

Safilo Group

Rick Talmage has been appointed chief operating officer of Solstice Marketing Concepts, LLC (SMC), a privately held retail subsidiary of the global eyewear manufacturer. Talmage, a seasoned retail and fashion executive, will oversee the day-to-day operations and growth of the New York City-based company's two luxury sunwear specialty chains: Solstice Sunglass Boutique and Sunsights. He joins the company from Tumi, Inc., where he was vice president of retail development and global e-commerce.

International Vision Expo/Reed Exhibitions

Courtney Muller returns to the Vision Expos as the new group vice president of the Vision portfolio of events. Muller currently leads Reed's Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas and G2E Asia in China, in addition to BookExpo America, the North American book publishing convention.

Tom Loughran is event director of the Vision Expos. Loughran joined Reed in 1999 as a sales executive on the Vision Expos. In his new role, he will be responsible for managing all aspects of the Vision Expo shows, including sales, marketing, conference and operations.
	Eileen Baird will become vice president for North American Education, a new role in which she will be responsible for continued development and growth of Reed's traditional trade show and conference businesses in the US and Canada.

Dennis J. MacDonald, senior vice president of Reed Exhibitions, North America, will add the Vision Expos to his portfolio of market-leading events in sectors including home/hearth, life/safety and lifestyle/leisure.

L'Amy America

Genevieve Fay has been appointed by L'Amy America to the position of worldwide brand manager for Theory eyewear and marketing manager for Lunettes L'Amy. In her new position, Fay will be responsible for managing the worldwide development of Theory eyewear in the optical and non-optical channels of distribution, as well as the marketing of L'Amy's house brand, Lunettes L'Amy to the optical industry. Fay joins L'Amy America with over five years experience in the optical industry, most recently as director of marketing for Silhouette Optical.

Kenmark Group

Angie Twombly has been hired as the new Quality Assurance Manager at Kenmark Group. She will oversee the new Quality Assurance Department and will be responsible for overseeing the quality of products distributed by Kenmark. Twombly joins the Kenmark Group from DRE, where she was the Export Manager. Prior to that, she was the Assistant Export Manager at the Kenmark Group.

Base Curve

Mike Papineau joins Base Curve Eyewear as National Sales Director, Western Hemisphere. In this position, Papineau will oversee the sales of both Carolina Herrera Eyewear and John Varvatos Eyewear in the US, Canada and Latin America. Papineau's 14 years in the eyewear industry has included managing the US sales efforts of several eyewear providers; most recently he served as the National Sales Director at Alain Mikli.

Ophthalmic Women Leaders Group

Jane Aguirre, the American Academy of Ophthalmology's vice president for global alliances, was recently named president of Ophthalmic Women Leaders, a group with more than 400 members that promotes professional development, networking opportunities and personal growth for women in ophthalmology. She succeeds outgoing OWL president Jaci Lindstrom. Aguirre joined the AAO staff in 1981.

21st Century Optics
21st Century Optics has appointed Ralph Woythaler as chief executive officer. He previously served as president. His brother, Bernard Woythaler, who had served as vice-president of operations, has been appointed president. In addition, his son, Robert Woythaler, who had served as director of customer relations, takes over the responsibilities of vice president of operations. The other members of the 21st Century's management team, including another brother, Mike Woythaler, vice-president of production, and Anthony Fulco, vice-president of sales and marketing, remain in place. 

Alain Mikli
Sean Lalloway has been named CEO of Alain Mikli's North American subsidiary, Alain Mikli, Ltd. Lalloway was most recently chief financial officer of Mikli's North American business and has been with the company for seven years, primarily overseeing operations. In his new role, he oversees both the U.S. and Canadian business for the French eyewear designer's collections including the Alain Mikli, Mikli par Mikli, Alyson McGee and Philippe Starck collections.

Marcolin
Massimo Saracchi has been appointed Marcolin’s new managing director and general manager, by the company’s board of directors., headed by company president Giovanni Marcolin. Saracchi will replace Antonio Bortuzzo, the previous managing director and general manager, who resigned during the board meeting from all of his positions within the Marcolin Group. His resignation as managing director was effective immediately, while his resignation from the position of general manager and from all other current positions in the company will be effective on Jan. 31. 

Staar Surgical
Barry Caldwell has been named president and chief executive officer of Staar Surgical. He succeeds David Bailey, who has become president of the company’s international operations and will now be based at Staar’s international headquarters in Nidau, Switzerland. Caldwell comes to Staar after serving until October as president, CEO and a member of the board at Iiridex. Before that, he was with Alcon Laboratories.