Jerry Warner.

PLEASANTON, Calif.— CooperVision, Inc., a unit of The Cooper Companies, Inc. (NYSE:COO), has named Jerry Warner as president, North America, responsible for determining the strategic direction of the company’s largest region, driving sustainable business growth and deeper customer relationships in the United States and Canada, the company said.

Warner previously served as CooperVision’s senior vice president of global marketing. He joined the company in 2012 as vice president, life cycle management. In his new role as head of CooperVision N.A., Warner will report to Dennis Murphy, CooperVision’s executive vice president of global sales and marketing.

“Jerry has extensive vision care experience, having spent the past two decades working hand-in-hand with eyecare practitioners, retailers, researchers, educators, field sales teams and others in global and regional roles,” said Murphy. “The depth of his expertise, encompassing strategic planning, sales, marketing, branding, pricing and life cycle management will help drive CooperVision and the entire contact lens industry forward.

“As a key member of our global leadership team,” Murphy added, “Jerry has helped grow CooperVision’s worldwide market share by more than four share points over the last three years, and his insights and knowledge have been instrumental in introducing inventive products and services such as MyDay and LensFerry that are benefitting customers and patients alike. He’ll bring that same drive, vision and commitment to the North American customers and their business.”

Prior to joining CooperVision, Warner was with Bausch + Lomb for 17 years. During that time, he held numerous leadership positions, including vice president of marketing / general manager of global contact lens; vice president of global strategy for contact lens; and director of marketing for lens care – North America. Earlier in his career, he served in a variety of sales, marketing and trade marketing roles with Bristol Myers Squibb at the territory and management levels.

Stated Warner, “CooperVision’s product portfolio is the strongest in the industry. In North America, we are making additional strides with the introduction of clariti 1 day, the sustained growth of Biofinity, and innovative mobile commerce platforms such as LensFerry. Continuing on that growth trajectory requires that we intensely focus on aligning and partnering with our customers, especially as we develop and bring more innovative products and services to a rapidly evolving market. CooperVision has always enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship with prescribing practitioners, and I look forward to extending and deepening that bond as we grow together.”

In his new role, Warner succeeds Bob Ferrigno. A CooperVision spokesperson told VMail, “Bob Ferrigno made significant contributions to the business over the past year as president of North America. Bob was an active participant in CooperVision's successful acquisition of Sauflon and subsequent U.S. rollout of clariti 1 day. Moving forward, Bob will be leaving CVI to pursue other opportunities. CooperVision thanks Bob and wishes him the best as he continues his career elsewhere.”

Warner earned his MBA from the Simon School, University of Rochester and his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Villanova University. His primary office will be in Fairport, N.Y.