The Safilo Group has announced two top management appointments at its North American and sports division – two strategic areas for the group representing the company’s largest regional market and its fastest-growing segment.
Francesco Rinaldi Ceroni was promoted to the position of President of Safilo’s Global Sports Division, whose portfolio most notably includes sunglasses, goggles and helmets under the Smith Optics brand. Rinaldi Ceroni joined the company in 2020 as President and Global General Manager for Smith after previous experiences at EssilorLuxottica or Costa Sunglasses. Safilo said that it was aiming for the sports channel to account for approximately 12 percent of its revenue by 2027.
The group simultaneously announced the appointment of Vittorio Verdun as its new President of the North American Market. The senior executive has more than thirty years of experience in global leadership roles, including thirteen in the eyewear sector, Safilo said. At 46 percent of group revenue, North America was the largest market for Safilo last year, but sales in the region went down by 5 percent year-on-year to $498 million.
