ROANOKE, Va.— High Performance Optics (HPO) has hired Larry Rodriguez as chief operating officer. Rodriguez is an experienced senior executive across several industries, and has held key positions with Pixel Optics and other companies. He will be responsible for all operations of the company, reporting to Mike Packard, chairman of the board.

Early in his career Rodriquez led the sales and marketing efforts for Southern Optical, growing it to one of the largest wholesales lab companies in the U.S. He then left the optical industry for nine years, joining Capital One in a management role. Recently, as senior vice president of global sales and marketing for PixelOptics he led the sales and marketing effort for the initial launch of emPower electronic focusing eyewear.

HPO, based here, is focused on protecting the human retina from the hazards of blue light. HPO has invented and patented proprietary solutions for various industries addressing the hazards of blue light. Most recently, the company signed a global exclusive license with Essilor to provide spectacle lens wearers with improved protection from high energy visible light. HPO is an affiliate of The Egg Factory, LLC.