Eyewear firm Safilo USA, the subsidiary of Safilo Group, Padua, Italy, has promoted several executives following the January appointment of Dick Russo as executive vice president.
Mark Ugenti has been named senior vice president of sales for the company’s retail sunglass division. He had been vice president of retail sunglass sales since 1996 and now reports to Russo.
Gary Graham has been promoted to vice president of accounting from director of accounting and is now responsible for financial reporting, budgeting, forecasting, auditing and the consolidation and reporting of financial information. Graham has been with Safilo for 24 years.
Bill Harrison, who has been in the optical industry for 25 years, including 11 years as director of field sales for Safilo, has been promoted to vice president of optical sales. He will oversee all aspects of sales and management of the independent and small chain markets, and manage and set the strategic direction for the company’s direct sales force. He also reports to Russo.
Robin Kreitner has been promoted to vice president of human resources from director of human resources, a post she held for 11 years. In her expanded role, she will oversee the human resources functions for all divisions, which include more than 1,000 Safilo and Solstice employees.
Timothy Parker, who was previously director of product design and development for Safilo USA, was promoted to vice president of product design and development.
In addition, Neal Gordon has joined the firm as vice president of marketing. He was most recently vice president of global licensing for fine jewelry firm Judith Ripka.
“In recent years, the number of employees of Safilo USA has more than doubled, thanks to the acquisition of Outlook and the growth of Solstice,” Claudio Gottardi, chief executive officer of Safilo Group, said in a statement. “With this growth, the reporting and administration has also become significantly more complex.”