Virginie Mercier Pitre.
CHARENTON-LE-PONT, France—EssilorLuxottica (Reuters: ESLX.PA) said Thursday that during its board meeting held earlier in the day the directors appointed Virginie Mercier Pitre as a new director. This follows her recent nomination as the new president of Valoptec Association, the independent association of EssilorLuxottica’s employee shareholders. Her nomination to the board of directors will be submitted to the shareholders vote for ratification at the next EssilorLuxottica annual general Meeting on May 25, 2022. Upon joining the board of directors, Mercier Pitre will also be part of its CSR committee.

Mercier Pitre replaces Juliette Favre on the board. The latter was president of Valoptec Association from 2015 to 2021 and served three terms on the Valoptec board, which is the maximum allowed by the association bylaws, according to the announcement Thursday. The EssilorLuxottica board of directors expressed its appreciation to Favre for her “significant contributions over the past six years and wish her the best in the pursuit of her career in the company.”
 
Mercier Pitre is currently vice president, commercial, Europe, at Essilor. She was appointed by the Valoptec board as the new president of the association in December.
 
Founded in 1972 when Essel and Silor merged to found Essilor, Valoptec Association has played a key role in building the success of the group since its creation, thanks to a continuous and open dialogue with the leaders of the Company, the EssilorLuxottica announcement noted. More than 20,000 people across 63 countries are members of Valoptec Association today.
 
As per EssilorLuxottica’s governance model, the president of the association holds a seat at the EssilorLuxottica board of directors.