DELRAY BEACH, Fla.—Now Optics, parent company of eyecare retail brand Stanton Optical, has announced its partnership with Scout Onward, a leading athlete search agency, to recruit talented executive team members from sporting backgrounds. This partnership is supported by growing recruitment trends that show many former student and elite athletes finding success in business leadership and entrepreneurship, Now Optics said in a release. Athletes’ skills, including the ability to work in teams, a strong work ethic and collaborative principles contribute to this success.

Daniel Stanton, CEO of Now Optics, said, “At Stanton Optical, we value the cross-section of expertise and abilities that our team members have that make our customer experience seamless and excellent. This partnership marks a significant milestone in our journey toward more elevated, customer-centric teams in our eyecare stores. Thanks to their lifelong dedication to working in teams, former athletes have the ability to make decisions under pressure, manage time, learn from failure, organize and mentor crews—making them a great fit in roles that deliver health care solutions, as well as products to customers directly.”

Scout Onward is an athlete recruitment agency founded by Kyle O'Brien, Chris Petitt and Erin McCafferty. All three founders are former lacrosse athletes from Harvard University and University of Maryland, who have experience in transitioning their college sports careers into other professions. For over 20 years, O'Brien and Petitt have both worked as NFL recruiters for football teams, such as the Patriots, Lions, Jaguars and Giants.

McCafferty has worked in venture capital firms and recruited for Harvard University's women's lacrosse teams. The founders share more than 45 years of college athlete recruitment and a deep network of campus connections across the U.S., along with the added benefit of McCafferty's business acumen to guide their executive search services.

O’Brien said, “Scout Onward and Now Optics share a common vision of bringing more former athletes to lead and enhance eyecare retail stores. Stanton Optical's strong culture of communicating clear objectives and celebrating teams will resonate with former players used to overcoming hurdles and achieving targets. Together, we plan to empower former athletes to use their unique skills to improve the eyecare customer experience at Stanton Optical stores, unlock their full potential as valuable frontrunners and create new opportunities for growth.”