Jan. 7, 2021 — Outskirts Press, Inc. has published “Making A Difference: How a little upstart eyewear company changed the optical industry” by Al Berg, as told to Frank Giammanco. 

Berg, who passed away in March 2019 from cancer, was a founder and CEO of Marchon Eyewear until the sale of the company to VSP Global in August 2008. He was a preeminent figure in the optical industry and served as vice president for The Vision Council. 

The memoir tells the story of three young entrepreneurs who, in 1983, set out to create a new eyewear company with a $2 million loan and a passion to succeed. Less than three decades later, the company they called Marchon was one of the largest and most innovative eyewear suppliers in the world, a fact which led to its sale to the top vision insurance firm for $735 million. Throughout the memoir, Berg shares his story, infused with world-class fashion eyewear products, groundbreaking marketing campaigns, and a drive to take the Marchon concept global.

Berg received a B.A. from Syracuse University’s Whitman School of Management, to which he endowed an entrepreneurship chair, and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. He was a philanthropist who provided decades of strategic leadership and support to the UJA Federation of New York, serving as centennial campaign chair, executive board member, past Long Island chair, and special advisor to the UJA President. 

For more information: outskirtspress.com/making_a_difference.