ESSILOR OF
AMERICA
PRESIDENT RECEIVES ALAIN BELLET AWARD
John
Carrier Honored by French-American Chamber of Commerce
for
Successes in International Business
DALLAS
– (May 15, 2009) – John Carrier, president of Essilor of America, Inc., has
been recognized with the Alain Bellet Award by the French-American Chamber of
Commerce (FACC) of Dallas/Fort Worth. Carrier was applauded at the “La
Vie en Roses” Champagne Gala and Award Ceremony for his pivotal role in
fostering business relations between France and the United States, as well as
working toward positioning Essilor as the world leader in optical lenses.
“We are very proud of this
prestigious recognition for John,” said Hubert Sagnieres, chief operating
officer of Essilor International. “He is a brilliant and accomplished
business leader, and has done much for the betterment of Essilor, and beyond
that, for the improvement of vision care across the globe.”
The Alain Bellet Award honors one man or
woman each year for incredible contributions to the prosperity of the region,
as well as for strengthening relations between Dallas and France. A native
Frenchman, Carrier has lived in
Dallas
for eight years with his wife, Karine, and three sons, Alexandre, Thomas and
Rafael. Alexandre recovered from a serious bout with amblyiopia—which can
lead to blindness if left untreated. It was this trial that inspired Carrier to
help so many others through his work at Essilor and the Essilor Vision
Foundation. He has been with Essilor for more than 20 years and became
president of Essilor of America in January 2007.
“Mr. Carrier has done so much for the
French and American business communities, and we are pleased to honor him with
this award,” said Bertrand Pelletier, president of FACC of Dallas/Fort
Worth. “He is a fine example of someone who seeks the greater good in his
professional work as evidenced by the launch of the Essilor Vision Foundation
to which we are proud to be associated.”
The Gala and Award Ceremony was held on
May 8, at the Rosewood Crescent Hotel, and was a grand celebration of tastes
from
France
and
Texas
. Distinguished
guests included The Honorable Pierre Grandjouan, Consul General of France; gala
chair Patrick Esquerré, founder of French inspired bistros, la Madeleine; and
the master of ceremonies for the event, Jim White, president of Jim White Media
and founder of Savor Dallas, an annual international food and wine event.
About
The FACC. The French-American Chamber of Commerce in Dallas,
one of the largest bi-national, non-profit and non-political organization in
Texas
, seeks to contribute to the development and
improvement of economic, commercial and financial relations between
France
and the
United States
. French companies
have more than 180 subsidiaries in
Texas
, and
50 of these are located in the
Dallas
/
Fort Worth
area.
About
Essilor of America, Inc. Essilor is the leading manufacturer
of optical lenses in the
United
States
and is the market leader in
progressive, high-index and anti-reflective coated lenses. A pioneer in the
development and production of ophthalmic lenses, Essilor employs more than
9,000 people throughout
North America
. Essilor
manufactures optical lenses under the Varilux®, Crizal®, Xperio™, DEFINITY® Thin&Lite®, and other Essilor brand names. Essilor Laboratories of
America (ELOA) is the largest, and most trusted, optical lab network in
the
U.S.
and offers a wide choice of services and lens brands, including Essilor premium
lenses, to eye care professionals across the nation. Essilor of America,
Inc. (Essilor) is a subsidiary of Paris-based Essilor International, S.A., a
publicly held company traded on the Euronext Paris stock exchange (Reuters:
ESSI
.PA).
Varilux, Crizal and DEFINITY
are registered trademarks of Essilor International. Xperio and Thin&Lite
are registered trademarks of Essilor of America, Inc.
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Contact: Isabelle De Wulf
French-American Chamber of Commerce
972-241-0111
info@faccdallas.com