Fernando Silva.

PADOVA, Italy—Kering Eyewear has appointed Fernando Silva to the position of vice president of sales for North America for the three Os and optical key accounts, effective immediately.

For the past 20 years, Silva has served as president of Marca Eyewear, based in Toronto, Canada, acting as the master agent for Marcolin brands, Alain Mikli, Moncler and other high end collections. Silva has extensive experience in the eyewear industry with a focus on luxury and fashion brands, the company said.

In his new role, Silva will be responsible for the sales of the Kering Eyewear brands portfolio in the optical retail channels, reporting to Antonio Bortuzzo, head of Kering Eyewear for the Americas.

Bortuzzo commented, “The addition of Fernando to Kering Eyewear Americas will mark an important step for the organization of our distribution in North America. Fernando is a strong leader and will be the foundation of our sales team serving independent opticians and optical key accounts. Fernando’s experience in high end brands distribution will be pivotal to Kering approach to the markets.”

As reported by VMail, Kering is launching its own global eyewear business and intends to preview the first collections under the new business later this year.

Kering Eyewear is part of the Kering Group, a world leader in apparel and accessories which develops an ensemble of powerful luxury, sport and lifestyle brands including Gucci, Bottega Veneta, Saint Laurent, Alexander McQueen, McQ, Stella McCartney, Boucheron and Puma.