Prevent Blindness America

James E. Anderson

Prevent Blindness America (PBA) has elected James E. Anderson as chair to its board of directors. J. David Pierson, president and CEO of Refac Optical Group, and George Neal, division vice president, global sales at Abbott Medical Optics (AMO) were also elected to the board of directors at the Prevent Blindness America 2009 Annual Meeting.

J. David Pierson

Anderson, a principal at Howe, Anderson & Steyer, P.C., in Washington, D.C., succeeds John D. O’Neill, who served as chair since 2006. At his law firm, Anderson specializes in representing trade associations and non-profit groups in corporate, non-profit tax, employment and antitrust matters and has served as counsel to non-profit organizations representing the vision industry for over 30 years.

George Neal

Pierson has served Prevent Blindness America for a number of years. He helped establish the Cleveland chapter of Prevent Blindness Ohio, served as the chair of the Chapter Executive Council and as a member of the Prevent Blindness Ohio state board of directors. At AMO, Neal brings 25 years of experience in the ophthalmic industry where he has held sales, marketing, and general management positions of increasing responsibility.

CooperVision

Richard Clompus

CooperVision named Richard Clompus, OD, FAAO as vice president, global professional relations within the company’s Global Commercial Strategy team. Clompus will support clinical studies, education, and professional affairs on a worldwide basis in order to further establish CooperVision’s position in the global contact lens industry. Clompus most recently served as director of The Vision Care Institute, LLC, supporting student and doctor education in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. Prior to that, he was part of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care.

Nassau Lens Group

Maureen Cavanagh

Essilor has appointed Maureen Cavanagh president of the Nassau Lens Group, a stock lens supplier and optical laboratory operator, based in Northvale, NJ. She joined Essilor in October 2005 with the acquisition of the Definity progressive lens product line from Johnson & Johnson. In October 2007, she assumed the role of vice president, integrated retail. Prior to Essilor, Cavanaugh held various sales and operations positions at The Spectacle Lens Group (J&J), Marine Optical Group, Cohen’s Fashion Optical and Vistakon.

 Optometry's Charity-The AOA Foundation

Martha Rosemore Greenberg

Optometry’s Charity-The AOA Foundation has elected Martha Rosemore Greenberg, OD to serve as board president. Greenberg joined the AOA Foundation board in 2008. Her list of optometric affiliations and accomplishments are extensive. Greenberg is the 2006 recipient of the SCO Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2008, she was named the Alabama Optometrist of the year and in 2009, was the recipient of the SECO Optometrist of the South, the first female to receive this distinction.

Marcolin

Paul Cartwright

Marcolin USA has named Paul Cartwright to the position of U.S. marketing director. He replaces Justin Kroop who has resigned from the company. Cartwright was previously marketing director for Signature Eyewear overseeing brands like Bebe, Carmen Marc Valvo, Cutter & Buck, Hummer, Laura Ashley, Michael Stars and Nicole Miller. He has also held marketing management positions in American Eagle Outfitters and Tommy Hilfiger.

UAB School of Optometry

Rod Nowakowski

Rod Nowakowski, OD, PhD, has been named interim dean of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Optometry. Nowakowski, who joined the UAB Department of Optometry faculty in 1975, served as chief of staff for UAB Eye Care and its affiliated clinics from 2000 to 2009. His appointment comes after the previously-reported announcement of John Amos, OD, that he is stepping down as dean of the school and returning to the faculty, with plans to retire in a few months.

1-800 CONTACTS
Joan Blackwood has joined 1-800 CONTACTS as senior vice president and chief marketing officer. Blackwood's career includes work with Monster.com, Computer Associates, FleetBoston Financial and Morgan Stanley. She has led global marketing strategies, brand positioning, major advertising campaigns, and product re-positioning for Fortune 500 brands.

Mondottica International
Mondottica International has announced that it will welcome a new investor and chief executive officer, Bernhard Nuesser. Nuesser, a resident of Switzerland, will assume the newly created role at the eyewear company and report to the company's chairman, Michael Jardine. Nuesser, most recently the CEO of the Bata Shoe Group in Europe, is no stranger to the optical industry, having previously spent five years as CEO of Vision Express, the major optical retailer in the U.K.

I/Optics
I/Optics, a division of New Millennium Eyewear, has named Marshall Post, as president of the division. Prior to joining I/Optics, Post took a hiatus from the eyewear industry to serve as vice president of marketing at Twinlab, a worldwide nutritional supplement company, and also held a position as executive director at Nature’s Bounty. 


SUNY College of Optometry
David Heath, OD, president of the SUNY College of Optometry has announced the largest gift to the College’s foundation since the founding of the College in 1971. Dr. William C. Folsom, Jr., a trustee of the College’s foundation, the Optometric Center of New York, and longtime supporter of the institution, has made an irrevocable pledge of his estate, currently valued at $2 million. A graduate of Columbia University, Dr. Folsom is a former Associate Clinical Professor at SUNY Optometry.

Herman Zimmer passes away

Herman Zimmer

Herman Zimmer, sales representative for LBI for more than 50 years, has died at 97. Zimmer led a colorful life and experienced his first near-death experience as a young man in the 1950’s after time spent running a casino in Havana, Cuba, when in the middle of the night, amidst chaos and the nationalization of his gambling club, friends from Chicago helped smuggle Zimmer out of the country in a casket. “The optical business is a piece of cake,” Zimmer once stated in comparison. Zimmer got his start covering the West Coast for Imperial Optical and after several years, left to work for LBI.

“Herman covered the Southern California territory for the LBI family for over 50 years” said Keith Lehrer, president of LBI. “As we say good-bye to Herman, LBI pays tribute to every sales rep past and present in eyecare. Our industry has had its share of colorful people,” continued Lehrer. “I personally had the chance to work alongside such legends as Herman, Al Wolfe, and many others. The old-timers were quick with a joke and had a delightful warm way.”