Rick Elias, Chief Executive Officer
Brett Craig, President
José Alves, General Manager, Latin America
Franck Carlier, Global Information Technology Director
Dave Cole, Managing Director of U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand
Guy Jouffroy, Executive Vice President, Operations
John Ligas, Director, Research & Development
Paul Peiffer, Managing Director, Asia
Ken Scullion, Global Human Resources Director for Optical & Speciality Materials
Gretchen Walsh, General Counsel
Eric Zaretsky, Chief Financial Officer
Rick Elias
Chief Executive Officer, Transitions Optical
Rick Elias has been part of Transitions Optical since its inception, first as Vice President, Marketing and Sales, from 1990 to 1995, and then as President and CEO. He is currently Chief Executive Officer of Transitions Optical, as well as Senior Vice President, Optical & Speciality Products for PPG Industries, Inc., the majority parent of Transitions Optical. Rick is a past Chairman of the Vision Council of America (VCA), a non-profit trade association for optical industry suppliers that promotes the eye care and eyewear industry He has also served on the Board of Prevent Blindness of Florida . Rick is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of South Carolina, with a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry; he also holds a Master’s degree in business administration from Marquette University.
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Brett Craig
President
Brett joined Transitions Optical in July 1999 as General Manager, Asia Pacific. In 2002, he moved into the role of VP/Managing Director for Europe, Middle East and Africa, where he was instrumental in positioning the businesses for rapid growth expansion. In mid-2006, Brett assumed the role of Chief Operating Officer and provided day-to-day leadership for the global business. In January 2008, Brett assumed his current role as President of Transitions Optical where he provides corporate direction for this rapidly growing enterprise with over 40 global offices and 10 manufacturing/services centers worldwide.
Brett holds a Bachelor of Science degree in economics from the University of Wisconsin and a master's degree in business administration from the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University.
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José Alves
General Manager, Latin America
Originally from São Paulo, Brazil, José Alves immigrated with his family to Waterbury, Connecticut in 1973. He started at Transitions Optical in 1990, in the operations area. In 1992, he joined the commercial area with responsibility for developing the Latin American market. In 1995, José moved back to Brazil to open the Transitions Optical sales office in São Paulo. Currently as General Manager of Latin America, he is responsible for the company’s commercial strategy and execution in the region and has oversight of the sales office and facility in Sumaré, Brazil, the sales office in Mexico City and country managers across South America, Central America, and the Caribbean. José’s 16 years of experience and insight into the Latin America optical market have been key factors in Transitions Optical’s growth and to strengthening our commercial structure in the region.
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Franck Carlier
Global Information Technology Director
Franck Carlier joined Transitions Optical in 2005 as Global Information Technology Director, responsible for the company’s IT systems and resources. In this role, Franck has been instrumental in, ensuring the IT applications support the business needs, implementing a state of the art worldwide IT Infrastructure and developing a best-in-class IT shared services organization. He came from Essilor of America, where he last served as Systems Integration Director. Franck has over 18 years of experience in IT, 16 of them in the optical industry in Europe and the U.S.A. including roles at Essilor International, christian dalloz sunoptics, Essilor of America, and Transitions Optical.
Franck holds an engineering degree in information systems from the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers in Paris, France and a master's degree in business administration from the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University
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Dave Cole
Managing Director, USCAN, Australia and New Zealand
Dave Cole helped launch Transitions Optical when he joined as Sales and Marketing Manager in 1990. In 1996 he became Director, Sales and Business Development and in 2002, he took the position of General Manager of the U.S. and Canada(USCAN). In 2004, this role was expanded to include oversight of Australia and New Zealand. Dave’s experience includes developing and executing strategic business plans, establishing and developing partnership networks, and executing fully integrated sales/marketing strategies. He graduated from Notre Dame with a Bachelor of Science degree in premedical science and psychology.
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Guy Jouffroy
Executive Vice President, Operations
Guy Jouffroy is responsible for leading Transitions Optical’s operations globally, including the company’s manufacturing, quality supply chain, global engineering, operational excellence, and environment, health and safety functions. Guy joined Transitions Optical in January 2003, after having served as Vice President, Global Engineering, at Essilor International, minority parent company of Transitions Optical, since July 1996. In this role, he was responsible for new product and technology industrialization, the transfer of products from one site to another, improvements in performance, and the start of new production units and facilities. Previously, he was Vice President, Fine Chemicals Operations for the French pharmaceutical company, Sanofi Chimie, where he defined and implemented the company’s fine chemicals industrial strategy and drove substantial productivity gains. In this role he also industrialized three new drugs. Previously, Guy held roles of increasing responsibility from technician to plant director in the paper industry. He holds an engineering degree from Ecole Centrale Paris.
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John Ligas
Director, Research & Development
John Ligas started with Transitions Optical's majority parent company, PPG Industries, at the Chemicals Research Center in Barberton, Ohio in 1973. In 1988, he started investigating the potential of photochromic dyes for the precursor of Transitions® lenses, as well as for non-ophthalmic uses. John transferred to Transitions Optical as Engineering Manager in 1992, and, in 1997, started in his current role leading research and development efforts on new products and processes for Transitions Optical. John received a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from the University of Akron.
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Paul F. Peiffer
Managing Director, Asia
Paul Peiffer began his career with PPG Industries, the majority parent of Transitions Optical, in 1974 as a management trainee. He progressed through a series of design engineering and sales management positions before becoming Global Director of Sales and Marketing for PPG Optical Monomers and Coatings. In 2005, he became Managing Director for Transitions Optical's Asia region, responsible for developing and executing strategic plans to ensure the profitable growth of the Transitions Optical business in the region. Paul graduated from the University of Dayton with a mechanical engineering degree, with advanced MBA studies at the Florida Institute of Technology.
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Ken Scullion
Global Human Resources Director for Optical Products
Ken Scullion worked for National Steel Corporation in several human resource positions before joining Transitions Optical's majority parent company, PPG in 1996, as a HR generalist in the company's research organization. Ken then assumed the role of HR director for the Meadville float glass facility in 1999. He served as manager, affirmative action beginning in 2002 and moved to HR manager for shared services in 2005. In 2006, Ken joined Transitions Optical as Global HR Director, Optical Products and was appointed Global HR Director of Optical and Specilaty Materials in 2008. He holds a Bachelor or Science degree in ecomonics from Allegheny College.
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Gretchen Walsh
General Counsel
Gretchen Walsh joined Transitions Optical in 2006 as General Counsel. Gretchen came to Transitions Optical from Essilor of America where she served as Associate General Counsel since 1998. Previously, Gretchen was an Associate at Fisher & Sauls, P.A. in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Gretchen holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Russian from the University of Florida and a Master of International Law and Business (L.L.M.) and Juris Doctorate (J.D.) from Stetson University College of Law.
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Eric Zaretsky
Chief Financial Officer
As Chief Financial Officer, Eric Zaretsky provides strategic leadership and direction to Transitions Optical’s Finance and Purchasing functions. Eric joined Transitions Optical from PPG Industries in 2007 as Manager, Business Development, where he provided leadership for Transitions Optical’s business development and strategic planning functions globally. Prior to joining Transitions Optical, Eric served in a variety of finance roles of increasing responsibility in PPG Industries’ Chemicals businesses and Corporate Controller’s department culminating in his appointment as Manager, Finance for the Optical Products business unit in 2006. Prior to joining PPG, Eric worked for the Peace Corps and Sanders International in Poland and at The Urban Institute in Washington, DC and Yerevan, Armenia.
Eric holds a Bachelor of Science degree in environmental studies from the University of Vermont and a master's degree in business administration from The Wharton School, The University of Pennsylvania.
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