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  Management Team
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  Transitions Professional Partners in Education
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  Company History
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  Industry Affiliations
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  Careers

Management Team

Rick Elias
Chief Executive Officer

Richard C. 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. He also holds the post of Vice President, Optical Products, for PPG Industries, Inc., the majority parent of Transitions Optical. Rick is responsible for all of PPG’s Optical Products Strategic Business Units, including Transitions Optical and Optical Materials including Intercast. 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 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. Effective January 1st 2008, Brett assumed his current role as President where he is providing corporate direction for a rapidly global enterprise with over 40 global offices and 10 manufacturing/services centers. Brett holds a BS in Economics from the University of Wisconsin and an MBA from the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University.

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José Alves
General Manager, Latin America

José Alves 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 to Brazil to open the Transitions sales office there. Currently he oversees sales offices and facilities in Sumaré, Brazil, the sales office in Mexico City and country managers across South America, Central America and the Caribbean.

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Franck Carlier
Global Information Technology Director

Franck has spent 18 years in IT, 16 of them in the optical industry in Europe and the U.S.A., at Essilor International, christian dalloz sunoptics, Essilor of America and, finally, at Transitions Optical. Franck holds an Engineering Degree in Information Systems from the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers in Paris, France and an MBA from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.

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Dave Cole
Managing Director of the Americas, 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; in 2002, he took the position of General Manager of the Americas, and in 2004 his 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.

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Cliona Curran
Global Supply Chain Director

Cliona Curran joined Transitions Optical in Ireland in 1998, and moved to the Florida location in 2001. Cliona came to Transitions with 20 years of materials/logistics/supply chain experience in the electronics industry, at Digital Equipment Corp., and the optical industry, at Bausch & Lomb. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree and Master of Business Studies degree from University College Dublin, and a PhD degree in Commerce from University College Cork.

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Guy Jouffroy
Executive Vice President, Operations

Guy Jouffroy joined Transitions in January 2003, after having served as Vice President, Engineering, at Essilor since July 1996. Previously, he was Vice President, Operations for the French pharmaceutical company, Sanofi Chimie.

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John S. Ligas
Director, Product Leadership

John Ligas started with the Transitions parent company, PPG, 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 Optical, as well as for non-ophthalmic uses. In 1989 he moved to Murrysville, Pennsylvania to work at the newly relocated Chemical Technical Center in Monroeville. John transferred to Transitions 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. John received a BS degree in chemical engineering from the University of Akron.

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Paul F. Peiffer
Managing Director, Asia

Paul 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, immediately before coming to Transitions Optical. 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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Michael Ruggeri
Chief Financial and Administrative Officer

Michael joined the Transitions team in February 2005 after more than 30 years handling both domestic and international financial assignments with our majority parent company, PPG Industries. Michael is a graduate of Lehigh University with a BS degree in Business & Economics. He holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Duquesne University.

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Ken Scullion
Global Human Resources Director for Optical Products

A graduate of Allegheny College in economics, Ken worked for National Steel Corporation in several human resource positions before joining PPG in 1996. He joined PPG as an HR generalist in our research organization followed by appointment as 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.

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Todd White
General Manager, Europe, Middle East and Africa

Todd R. White became General Manager / Managing Director for Transitions EMEA region in July 2006. Todd Joined Transitions from JV partner PPG Industries where his previous assignments included General Manager – Fiberglass General Industrial and Americas Regional Leader, General Manager Optical Monomers and Coatings, Manager Sales and Marketing – Calcium Hypochlorite, Product Manager – Chlorobenzenes, Sulfur Products, Hydrogen and Acid and several sales positions in the Chlor/Alkali and Derivatives SBU. Todd Joined PPG after starting his career with Bayer in Pittsburgh. He earned his undergraduate degree at Westminster College and an M.B.A. from Duquesne University. Todd currently resides in Paris, France.

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Bette Zaret
Vice President, Global Strategic Marketing

As Vice President, Global Strategic Marketing, Bette Zaret is responsible for defining the long-range strategies and marketing objectives for Transitions Optical and the Transitions Brand. Since joining Transitions Optical in 2001, Bette has helped establish the company’s focus on eye health and its corporate vision of “Healthy Sight in Every Light.” She has also helped establish the company’s healthy sight awareness public service initiative, and has spearheaded relations with organizations like the World Council of Optometry (WCO) and the American Optometric Association (AOA). Bette came to Transitions following over 30 years experience in international marketing for such major companies as Bristol-Myers Squibb (Clairol), Disney, Johnson & Johnson and International Playtex.

Bette has a B.A. cum laude from Syracuse University and an advanced executive degree from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.

In 2005, Bette was named one of the most influential women in the optical industry by Vision Monday.

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