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Raanan Naftalovich Elected Chairman of The Vision Council at Organization’s Annual Executive Summit

January 18, 2013 12:30 AM


Raanan Naftalovich of Shamir Insight.

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla.—At its annual Executive Summit here, The Vision Council officially inducted its 2013 officers and board of directors. A record number of attendees from among Vision Council member companies and other guests, held organizational divisional meetings, networked and listened to outside speakers and industry executives address a diverse array of issues including leadership, the economy and business trends in a multi-pronged program.

At the annual membership meeting, new officers were elected and it was announced that Raanan Naftalovich of Shamir Insight has been named chairman. Naftalovich has been an active member of The Vision Council for several years and is a past chair of its Lens Division, Finance Committee and Statistics Committee.

Naftalovich will be joined by Martin Bassett of Walman Optical as vice chairman, Dick Russo of Safilo as secretary/treasurer and Jamie Shyer of Zyloware Eyewear as immediate past chairman. Also elected were directors at large Doug Hepper of Vision Ease (Lens Division), Claudio Gottardi of Marchon (Eyewear & Accessories Division), John Corsini of Super Systems (Lens Processing Technology Division) and Andrea Dorigo of Luxottica (Eyewear & Accessories Division). The complete roster for the 2013 Board of Directors can be found online at www.thevisioncouncil.org.

"The vision industry’s success lies in working closely with our government allies, capitalizing on critical changes in marketplace conditions and having the intuition to fully leverage advances in technology," said Naftalovich, chairman of The Vision Council's Board of Directors. "My predecessor, Jamie Shyer, did an excellent job of working alongside The Vision Council to tailor programs necessary for such industry growth. Our challenge in 2013 will be to further refine these programs to ensure they are running as efficiently and effectively as possible to meet the needs of our ever-growing and diverse membership.”

At the general meeting here, Naftalovich cited government and regulatory affairs, consumer campaigns and professional relations with other groups as three broad areas of initiatives in 2013.

To help determine a path for the future of the organization, The Vision Council Board of Directors, CEO and senior management team conducted a strategic planning session at The Vision Council’s headquarters in Alexandria, Va. on Dec. 6, 2012. In the coming weeks, the board will be reviewing the results document from their December session and delegating to the appropriate committees and task forces for implementation.

More than 290 participants attended this year’s meeting. The Vision Council's Program Committee, which plans the annual meeting, attributed this growth to the members' increasing level of involvement and commitment to industry growth. The 2013 program provided senior executives with an opportunity to participate in special breakouts and an interactive panel discussion, facilitated by Program Chair Mike Hundert, on the future of eyewear distribution channels.

Members were also invited to exclusive networking events and presentations from two keynote speakers. Eric Ryan, co-founder of Method Products, Inc., discussed the importance of branding your company from the inside out and being product-centric in building a sound business model, while Andrew Duguay, senior economist for the Institute for Trend Research, shared economic forecasts for the vision industry, which included insights into what leading economic indicators may be worth watching.

The 2014 Executive Summit will be held at Trump International Beach Resort in Miami, Fla., Jan. 22 to 24. An annual meeting summary and post event resources from The Vision Council's 2013 Executive Summit, will be posted soon.

Watch for additional insights from incoming chair Naftolovich on the initiatives of the organization as well as other elements of the meeting in future edtions of VMail and on VisionMonday.com.


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