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Marcolin Group and global lifestyle brand GUESS announce the early renewal of an exclusive license agreement for the design, manufacture, and worldwide distribution of GUESS and Marciano sunglasses and eyeglasses. The license agreement is extended until 2025.

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ABB Optical Group has hired industry veteran Mike Evans as the company’s Western sales director. Additionally, Brad Amstutz has been promoted to Eastern sales director. Glenn Senese, formerly the Eastern sales director, will move to the new position of director of new business development.

Eschenbach has appointed Taron Sutcliffe vice president and officer of the corporation. Sutcliffe previously served as Eschenbach’s chief financial officer.

Kurt Gardner has assumed the role of vice president of sales at FEA Industries. Gardner most recently served as director of business development at IOT America.

Vision Expo has announced that Joanne Mohr is the new event director for show co-owner Reed Exhibitions. Mohr brings more than 25 years of trade show experience to the Vision Expo team, including an expertise in fashion and retail. Most recently, she served as executive vice president of ENK International.

WestGroupe has appointed Wallatta Delvaille to a new role as export sales manager. Delvaille has been an integral part of WestGroupe for the past 10 years, most recently in the role of sales representative to the Eastern Ontario territory.

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De Rigo enhanced its portfolio in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, as the company has become the exclusive distributor of Converse Eyewear for the region.

Luxexcel, a Belgium-based tech innovation company, opened a U.S. headquarters in the Greater Atlanta area of Alpharetta, GA. The move clears the way for the U.S. growth of ophthalmic-quality 3D-printed lenses. Guido Groet, chief commercial officer of Luxexcel, has relocated to Alpharetta to lead the operations.

Safilo has strengthened its presence in Latin America via an exclusive distribution partnership with local eyewear company Cepal for the Paraguayan market.

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Pearle Vision has earned the No. 1 ranking in the Health Products category of Entrepreneur magazine’s 2018 Franchise 500 list. The company ranked No. 72 overall among all franchises in the ranking.

Nonprofit eyecare organization Seva was named a “Best Bet” for philanthropy from the pool of applicants in the MacArthur Foundation’s 100&Change competition. The University of Pennsylvania’s Center for High-Impact Philanthropy selected 11 organizations and initiatives, including Seva, for its Best Bets list, designed to serve as a public resource for donors.

At the Vision-X Vision Plus 2017 awards in Dubai, Silhouette UK’s Atelier model G014 was named “Best New Spectacle” and its Special Edition Arthur Arbesser sunglasses was named “Best New Sunglass Model.”

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De Rigo joined forces with the Istituto Europeo di Design (IED) in Venice for a design competition, offering IED students the opportunity to create a logo representing De Rigo’s 40th anniversary this year. The winning logo (shown below), created by students Alice Ferrazzo and Sara Mattiuzzi, was officially released last month in alignment with the MIDO eyewear show.

BARONTI TO LEAD DE RIGO REM

De Rigo announced the appointment of Alessandro Baronti as president of its North American subsidiary, De Rigo REM. Baronti succeeds Steve Horowitz, who will be moving on to pursue other business opportunities in the industry. Baronti brings more than 30 years of optical experience to the company. Most recently, he served as the vice president of Industry Relations & Education for Luxottica, for the U.S. and Canada.