Rick Gadd. Eric Leonard. Matt Tackman.
Rick Gadd to Succeed Eric Leonard as President of Essilor of America

DALLAS—Essilor of America has promoted Rick Gadd to become president of Essilor of America, effective Sept. 1. He will take on the responsibilities currently held by Eric Leonard, who be taking on new senior responsibilities for the Essilor Group at that time. Gadd joined Essilor of America in 2011 as senior vice president of key accounts, a group he led until 2017 when he was named president of ECP sales and services. In his most current role, Gadd has been responsible for leading the brand and lab sales organization, Kodak brand and Partner Labs to accelerate customer growth and satisfaction through eyecare professional partnership and customized product and service innovation. Prior to his roles at Essilor of America, Gadd served as a senior leader at Motorola.

“I warmly thank Eric Leonard for his significant contribution to the strategic development and success of Essilor of America during the past four years,” said John Carrier, chief operating officer, Essilor International. “Eric and Rick will work together over the next few months on a transition plan that ensures Essilor of America will continue to drive unique innovations and services for its customers and live our group’s mission of improving lives by improving sight,” Carrier added.

Leonard has held a variety of roles within Essilor since 2002. Most recently, prior to joining Essilor of America in 2014, he served as the president of Essilor Europe.

Matt Tackman, current vice president of brand sales, has been named as senior vice president of ECP sales and services to lead the brand and lab sales organization as Gadd takes his new role. He has worked within Essilor of America for 10 years in a variety of leadership roles within the sales organization.


Andreas Wolf.
EyePromise Names New President and CFO

CHESTERFIELD, Mo.—EyePromise, a supplier of ocular nutraceuticals and optical instruments, has named Andreas Wolf as president and Peggy Stohr as chief financial officer. Wolf joins EyePromise from Young Dental, where he was vice president and general manager. Prior to that, he was with Novus International. He received his BBA from the College of William & Mary and his MBA from Thunderbird, School of Global Management. At EyePromise, Wolf takes responsibility for all of the company’s business activities and strategies focused on growth.

Stohr joins EyePromise with a strong strategic financial and administrative background in both public and private medical device organizations. She received her BSBA from the University of Dayton and her MBA from Washington University Olin Business School.

“We are thrilled to have both Andreas and Peggy on board, and I believe they will bring strategic leadership and experience to pursue aggressive growth and expand into new markets,” remarked Dennis Gierhart, PhD, co-founder, chairman, and chief science officer of EyePromise.


Scott Chantos. Adam Quick.
RAEN Appoints New Sales Executives

OCEANSIDE, Calif.—RAEN has announced the appointment of Scott Chantos as vice president of sales and marketing and Adam Quick as director of sales. Both will be based at the company’s global headquarters in Oceanside and report to the brand’s CEO, Jeff Fitzhugh. Chantos takes on this position with more than 25 years of experience in sales and marketing, most recently working as vice president of sales at Bilt 4 Life, a wearable technology startup. He is also the founder of Life3, LLC, a coaching and consulting firm helping executives in the areas of performance optimization, business strategy and leadership.

Before joining RAEN, Quick was the director of sales for Sol Republic/Monster and DC Shoe Company, where he spent 15 years creating and launching the brand’s apparel program. With a BA in business and communications from Cal Poly Pomona, Quick also worked on special programs for Ken Block, Rob Dyrdek’s Fantasy Factory and NVRBRKN special programs.

“Having worked with both Scott and Adam in the past, I was excited to bring them to RAEN to continue to build the best team in the industry. They are both highly respected leaders and have a proven track record to help drive growth and profitability within this highly competitive market,” said Fitzhugh.

“RAEN’s growth has been explosive, and we couldn’t have hoped for stronger talent to help guide our global sales efforts forward and support our retailers,” he said.