TRANSITIONS OPTICAL PROMOTES DAVE COLE TO PRESIDENT



Transitions Optical has announced that Dave Cole has been appointed president, effective immediately. In this leadership role, Cole will assume full responsibility for the Transitions Optical business.

Cole, who started with Transitions Optical when the company launched in 1990, took a global leadership position when he was named chief operating officer in October of 2010. In his expanded role, he will be accountable for effectively leveraging the regional and global leadership teams, and business strategy development and execution, while continuing to build strong strategic partnerships to drive the overall photochromic market.

"In the time Dave served as chief operating officer, he showed again and again how exceptionally well suited he is to lead Transitions Optical globally," said Rick Elias, CEO, Transitions Optical. "His in-depth knowledge of the optical industry and our business, ability to continuously act with long-term perspective, and capability for building strong relationships within the industry and internally are just a few of his notable strengths."

After moving through a variety of sales and marketing roles in PPG Industries, Inc., over a nine-year period, Cole joined Transitions Optical in 1990 as manager of sales and business development. Since then, Cole has assumed positions of increasing responsibility as the company continued to experience strong growth, serving as business manager and then general manager of the Americas for Transitions Optical. In 2004, Cole added Australia and New Zealand to his North American responsibilities and, in 2008, added global strategic initiatives. Cole's leadership has led to significant growth for the company and motivated strong loyalty from industry partners in these markets. Cole holds a bachelor's degree in medicine from the University of Notre Dame.