Ogi Eyewear has announced the appointment of Joseph Tallier as their new chief executive Officer on January 1, 2015.

Tallier has been part of the Ogi Eyewear team for six years. He started his career at Ogi Eyewear in September 2008 as vice president of global sales. During that time his visionary leadership was instrumental in growing the sales at Ogi Eyewear by 300 per cent, communicating the company’s value through marketing, leading the direction of the design vision, and promoting worldwide expansion. He became an equity partner in 2012 prior to being promoted to CEO.

“I am incredibly excited and grateful to lead Ogi’s dynamic management team, outstanding sale force, and highly talented and motivated support team,” said Joseph Tallier. “This is a very exciting time to be appointed CEO as we continue to grow the market segment of affordable luxury that we have been so successful in pioneering.”

Tallier has 28 years of demonstrated success in the wholesale optical industry starting as a sales representative and progressively being promoted to leadership positions in several wholesale optical companies in the U.S.

WestGroupe announces the appointment of Dr. Francesco Ferro to the position of export sales manager. Based in Italy, Francesco will play a critical role in the expansion of WestGroupe outside of the North American market.

A 25 year sales and management veteran, Francesco has built a strong, loyal and long-term customer base since entering the eyewear industry 10 years ago. He began his optical career at Area98 as sales director, responsible for opening and managing key account business as well as building their global distribution network. In addition to Area98, Francesco has also worked for Grupo Optim as export manager and Nico Design as brand manager for the Derapage collection.

“With his experience and expertise in the European optical market, his contribution to our organization and to our customers will be tremendous,” says WestGroupe President, Michael Suliteanu. “He will surely play a critical role in the expansion of WestGroupe into new markets globally.”

Breton Communications is excited to announce the expansion of its BretonJobs.com partnerships with the incorporation of the Academy of Ophthalmic Education (AOE).

The AOE website now includes a revamped jobs page where BretonJobs.com employment ads are displayed in real time, giving visitors the ability to browse the most current opportunities available.

“It is always a thrill to see the progression of an idea,” said Martine Breton, president of Breton Communications. “With partners like the Academy of Ophthalmic Education, we are growing BretonJobs.com into a powerful tool to help Canadian ECPs with one of the most challenging aspects of practice management – recruiting.”

The AOE is equally pleased to announce this collaborative association and sees it as a first step in helping Canadian ECPs. Academy C.E.O. Ali Khan noted: “While the Academy will offer free space in the classified section of the website, there will also be a cross-connection and reference between Breton Jobs and AOE’s classifieds. Together, we hope to serve the optical industry and the ECPs to meet all their professional and business needs.”

Visitors to BretonJobs.com can find information and links back to the Academy while the organization’s continuing education events will be listed in the Opti-Guide.com and Opti-News calendars.

All employment listings posted to BretonJobs.com are automatically displayed on the AOE website, as well as all other partner sites.

The Vision Council’s annual Executive Summit held January 21-23 at the PGA National Resort and Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, has drawn more than 325 high-level executives from the optical industry. During the event, The Vision Council has officially inducted its 2015 officers and board of directors.

During the Summit’s business meeting portion, it was announced that Marty Bassett, Walman Optical, has been elected as the new chairman of the board, with MikeHundert of REM Eyewear tapped as the new vice chairman, and Ken Bradley of Eschenbach Optik of America as the secretary/treasurer. Raanan Naftalovich of Shamir Insight, Inc. is now the immediate past chairman. Also elected were directors-at-large Bob Colucci of Essilor, Glenn Rusk of Sàfilo, and Holly Rush of Luxottica, each selected for an initial two-year term, and John Corsini of Super Systems Optical selected for a second two-year term. The complete roster for the 2015 Board of Directors can be found online at thevisioncouncil.org.

In his inaugural presentation as chairman of the board, also during the Summit’s business meeting, Marty Bassett outlined his priorities for his tenure as chairman including strengthening the International Vision Expos, ensuring a consistent and relevant governance process, expanding the organization’s brand, and most importantly, stimulating market growth.

“A key initiative of The Vision Council will continue to be engagement in activities and programs that promote the growth of the market, such as the Think About Your Eyes campaign,” said Bassett. “This campaign is designed to stimulate market growth by driving awareness for the importance of annual eye exams, and has proven to dramatically increase the number of new patients receiving first-time eye exams, as well as decrease the amount of time between eye exams for existing patients. Because of this, The Vision Council will be making it a priority to support these efforts, and integrate these messages into all of our consumer campaigns. “

The 2015 Executive Summit program also showcases presentations from experts in business, economics, and strategy.