Essilor of America

Mike Daley

Essilor of America, Inc. announced last month the retirement of industry veteran Mike Daley, Lens Group president, after 32 years of service. He will continue to serve Essilor as a consultant, including providing Essilor representation at industry associations, events, and meetings. Daley began his career with Essilor in 1976, as sales consultant for the Varilux Corporation. Over the following 13 years, his responsibilities increased to include marketing, technical services, laboratory operations, and sales and ultimately resulted in his promotion to president of Varilux Corporation in 1989. In 1996, Daley was  appointed president and COO of Essilor’s United States Lens Division, which became known as Essilor Lenses.

Davis Vision

Steve Holden

Longtime managed vision care executive Steve Holden has been named president of Davis Vision, the managed vision operation of Highmark’s HVHC subsidiary, effective immediately. Holden succeeds Joe Carlomusto, who retired as of Aug. 3 after working with Davis Vision since 1986. A 32-year veteran of the healthcare industry, Holden was president of Cole Managed Vision (now EyeMed Vision Care) before Cole Vision was sold to Luxottica Group in late 2004.

VisionWeb

Jeff Saddington

Jeff Saddington, president and chief executive officer of industry Internet portal VisionWeb since 2003, plans to retire Sept. 1. He will be succeeded in that position by Ken Engelhart, who joined VisionWeb early this year as chief operating officer. Saddington, who has spent six years with VisionWeb, plans to pursue a Masters of Divinity degree from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary after his retirement. Prior to joining VisionWeb, Saddington retired from Johnson & Johnson after 33 years with that company in various positions. Before joining VisionWeb in March, Engelhart was a senior executive in the retail division of Essilor of America; he previously held marketing and sales positions in several divisions of Essilor as well as with Vistakon and Alcon.

Ken Engelhart

American Optometric Association

Rodney Peele

The AOA has appointed Rodney Peele assistant director of regulatory policy and outreach in the association’s office. Peele, a licensed attorney, comes to the 36,000-member organization after holding several positions with the American Podiatric Medical Association. In his new position with the AOA, Peele will be responsible for coordinating and advancing the organization’s federal regulatory policy and implementing and expanding optometry’s outreach to federal agency policy makers and officials; he will also serve as staff liaison to the AOA federal relations committee.

A&A Optical

Brandon Moore

A&A Optical Company has announced that Brandon Moore, national sales manager for the company, has entered into a partnership agreement with Robert Liener, president and CEO of the company, as a minority owner. Moore’s role as one of A&A’s two national sales managers will continue, along with some additional responsibilities involving marketing and customer service. Moore has been with A&A for 8 years, first as a sales consultant, then district manager and regional manager before taking over his shared role as national sales manager. Liener will keep his role as president and CEO, a position he has held for the last 10 years.

Robert Liener

Prevent Blindness America

Richard Meier

Prevent Blindness America recently elected three industry veterans to its national board of directors. Brenda J. Luckritz, vice president of public affairs for Novartis; Rick Elias, senior vice president, optical and specialty materials for PPG Industries and CEO of Transitions Optical; and Richard Meier, president and chief operating officer of Advanced Medical Optics were elected to the board at the 2008 Summer Board Meeting.  At Novartis, Luckritz is responsible for the creation of alliances with independent think  tank organizations and policy-shaping groups. Elias is currently responsible for PPG’s Optical and Specialty Materials reporting segment, which comprises the optical products business, including Transitions Optical, and PPG’s silicas business. Meier has served at AMO since 2002. He is currently responsible for AMO’s cataract and eye care businesses, as well as global operations and global service organizations.

Transitions Optical

Grady Lenski

Transitions Optical, Inc. has announced that Grady Lenski, currently marketing director, North America, Transitions, will assume the role of director, Transitions sunwear. In this newly established position, Lenski will be responsible for developing and implementing global business strategies to grow the emerging active sunwear category, including the Activated by Transitions® lines.

Reliable Optics

Marlene Deutsch

Reliable Optics, an independent wholesale lab based in Brooklyn, New York, has added two Regional Account Managers to its sales team. Marlene Deutsch will provide account management services to customers in parts of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Delaware, Washington, DC and Virginia. Deutsch has more than 16 years serving the optical community. Ken Donow will be responsible for the New York City, Long Island and Westchester regions. Donow’s technical sales and sales management career spans over 30 years. His previous 5 years were spent serving as the sales manager for JG Optical.

Ken Donow

Carl Zeiss Vision
Steve Koufos, a veteran optical industry executive, has joined Carl Zeiss Vision as vice president, marketing for North America. He will have overall responsibility for the company’s branding and product marketing activities in the region. Koufos replaces Steve Mitrakos, who has been named to the newly created position of vice president, customer marketing, with responsibility for “go-to-market” and downstream responsibilities. Koufos was previously vice president of marketing and strategic planning for Hoya Vision Care.