New entry in Gruppo Polinelli Occhiali

Riccardo Polinelli, President of Gruppo Polinelli Occhiali, has announced the appointment of Kenneth L. Frederick as General Manager, North America, effective January 2005.

Ken worked for 10 years at Bausch & Lomb (8 years as Director of Procurement & Contract Manufacturing with Ray Ban and then 2 years as Vice President of Operations for the Outlook Eyewear Division) and then 10 years for Smith Sport Optics (as VP of Operations & Asset Management for both sunglass and goggles for the last two years).

Ken Frederick has been active in the Sunglass Association of America for the past 12 years, and has been on the Executive Committee for the last 7 years, presently in his fourth year as President. He has also served on the Ansi Z80 committees for optical products and currently serves as Chair of the Z80.3 Sunglass Committee. He also serves on the Iso Sunglass, Spectacle Lens, and Reader committees as a member of the US delegation. He is involved with the sports eyewear program with Astm.

Riccardo Polinelli said: 'I'm very pleased to welcome Ken to our company team, he brings with him 20 years experience in the eyewear world. The main objective of this cooperation is to continue to build the group's presence in North America by representing the capabilities that the Group brings to the optical market'.