LOUISVILLE, Ky.—
Kenmark, a leader in optical eyewear and sunglass design and
manufacturing, announced that Don Howard has retired as president and
CEO of the company. The board has
|
|
|
Mike Cundiff (l) and Don Howard (r)
|
appointed Mike Cundiff, currently
chief operating officer, as his replacement.
In his new position,
Cundiff will retain his position on the board and the responsibilities
of COO. Board members of employee-owned Kenmark, Michelle Clark, chief
financial officer, and David Duralde, chief creative officer, will
report to Cundiff.
Howard began his career
at Kenmark in 1974. He has been instrumental in helping to build the
business into one of the premier eyewear design and manufacturing
companies in the industry, the company noted. “I would like to thank the
countless people that I have met during my career at Kenmark,” Howard
said. “Thanks for the love and friendship, the advice and concern and
the compliments and criticisms that have molded my experience and made
me the person that I am.”
A former board member at
the Vision Council of America, Howard has been an active member of the
eyewear community and Prevent Blindness America. Kenmark’s statement
added, “His contributions and impact extend to the company, the industry
and the millions of Kenmark eyewear customers.”
“I would like to thank
Don for his many years of hard work and contributions to Kenmark. He has
been instrumental in helping us get to where we are today,” said
Cundiff.
Cundiff, also an
industry veteran, joined Kenmark in 1983. He was promoted to COO in 2000
and has revolutionized Kenmark’s sales, distribution and manufacturing
capabilities while expanding growth opportunities. Cundiff is an active
member of The Vision Council and eyewear community. He works closely
with the employee-owned board to position Kenmark to grow through new
licenses, market expansion, and accelerated the company’s global
presence, the company said.
|
|
Jay Higdon |
|
In other news, Kenmark Group has announced the promotion of Jay Higdon to director of international sales.
“Jay has spent many
years in various capacities on the Kenmark team and is positioned
perfectly to deliver Kenmark’s message of serving the professional
global optical community with superior products and a down-to-earth,
approachable business style,” said Cundiff.
Higdon has been with
Kenmark for 21 years and will be responsible for leading continued
growth of international business, as well as the company’s export and
sales teams. Currently serving more than 50 countries worldwide, the
international sales team will focus on building relationships in new
markets, as well as strengthening existing territories.
Angelini Named President, North America, for Johnson & Johnson Vision Care
|
|
Laura Angelini |
|
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. –
Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc., announced the appointment of
Laura Angelini to the role of president, North America, Johnson &
Johnson Vision Care, Inc. In her new role, Angelini will be responsible
for the Vistakon U.S. and Canadian businesses, the company said.
Angelini has over 20
years of experience building business and brands at Johnson &
Johnson. She has served in various sales and marketing leadership roles
across the company’s Medical Device and Diagnostics segment. Early in
her Johnson & Johnson career, she was responsible for introducing
1-Day Acuvue brand contact lenses to the Italian market.
Most recently, Angelini
was challenged with the task of creating a global enterprise strategy
for three previously separate businesses that came together to form
Ethicon Surgical Care. Impacting almost all commercial areas of the
business, she and her team were ultimately responsible for launching new
products in each of the company’s strategic growth categories, the
announcement said.
Angelini, who succeeds Dave Brown, will report to McEvoy.
Satisloh Hires Clark as Best Practices Specialist
|
|
|
Edward
Clark |
GERMANTOWN, Wis.— Edward
Clark, an optical industry veteran with more than 20 years of
experience, recently joined Satisloh’s team as a best practices
specialist.
“Ed will be responsible
for the Eastern U.S, supporting our customers with best practices for
their labs. With the rapid expansion of digital processing, labs can
utilize our expertise to stay current and support them to gain
consistency, quality and lower costs,” said Steve Schneider, director,
aftermarket, Satisloh.
Clark’s optical resume
includes working at Carl Zeiss Vision as part of the technical product
engineering group and working at LensCrafters.
Superior Vision Names Luchetta Vice President of Sales
RANCHO CORDOVA,
Calif.—Managed vision care company, Superior Vision has named Tom
Luchetta vice president of sales. He will be responsible for managing
the sales organization and developing new strategic distribution
partnerships.
Luchetta comes to
Superior Vision from his position as senior vice president of sales at
Chesapeake Life Insurance Company, a division of HealthMarkets. He has
also held sales leadership roles at Secure Horizons, a division of
United Healthcare Medicare and Retirement Solutions, Manhattan Insurance
Group, American Medical Security, and Humana, selling a broad portfolio
of health care products through multiple channels.
|
|
Michele Childers |
|
In other news, Superior
Vision has named Michele Childers regional sales manager for California.
She will be responsible for growing the vision benefits company’s
presence throughout the state. Childers brings more than 15 years of
benefits insurance sales experience, most recently as senior broker
sales executive with BenefitMall.
Haag-Streit USA Names New Business Development Manager
|
|
|
Mike Rom |
MASON, Ohio—Haag-Streit
USA has appointed Mike Rom to the newly created position of business
development manager, East. Rom will be working with distributors,
teaching institutions, clinics and customers to build relationships and
promote Haag-Streit and Reliance Medical Products.
Rom is an 18-year veteran of Haag-Streit. He began his career there in the engineering department.
Imatters Names DiBacco Director of Business Development
|
|
Nikki DiBacco |
|
WINTER PARK,
Fla.—Eyecare staffing company, imatters has named Nikki DiBacco director
of business development. A 27-year marketing and training optical
industry veteran with experience working with ophthalmologists,
optometrists and opticians, DiBacco will be responsible for marketing
imatters to potential candidates and clients. She will represent
imatters at regional and national trade shows and meetings along with
writing and public speaking responsibilities.
Mondottica USA Names AGRUSA West Coast Sales Manager
|
|
|
Mark Agrusa |
NEW PROVIDENCE,
N.J.—Mondottica USA has named Mark Agrusa as the company’s new West
Coast regional sales manager. He will report to Gary Podhaizer,
president of Mondottica USA. Previously, Agrusa was a regional sales
manager with Modo Eyewear. He also worked as a district sales manager
and sales consultant for Luxottica for 8 years.
Trenary Named President/CEO of InnFocus Medical Device Company
|
|
Russ
Trenary |
|
MIAMI, Fla.—Russ
Trenary, a long time ophthalmology executive, has been named president
and CEO of InnFocus, Inc., LLC, a privately held medical device company
with biomaterials expertise that has developed a patented micro-shunt
for treating glaucoma. Company founder Leonard Pinchuk, Ph.D., will
remain with InnFocus to develop its product pipeline. Trenary has spent
over 30 years with ophthalmic medical device companies, including
Allergan Inc. and Advanced Medical Optics. ■