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National Vision on hunt for new CFO; announces leadership changes

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America's Best
National Vision Holdings, Inc. operates over 1,200 stores in 38 states and Puerto Rico.

National Vision Holdings, Inc. is making several changes to its leadership team, while one of its C-suite members plans to depart from the company.

The parent company of America’s Best, Eyeglass World, DiscountContacts.com and Vista Opticals inside select Fred Meyer grocery stores and on select military bases said that Melissa Rasmussen, chief financial officer, will depart on Feb. 26 following a transition period to become the CFO of Mueller Water Products. She joined National Vision in 2019 as chief accounting officer, and was promoted to her current role n 2023.

National Vision has started a search for a new CFO. If necessary, the company plans to appoint an interim CFO prior to Rasmussen’s departure.

"On behalf of our entire organization, I want to thank Melissa for her dedication and valuable contributions during her tenure at National Vision,” said Reade Fahs, CEO of National Vision. “Melissa played an instrumental role in helping us navigate through a rapidly evolving business landscape over the past few years, and more recently, as we have embarked on our transformation to position National Vision for its next chapter for growth."

To support the company’s transformation, the following changes have been made to the executive leadership team:

  • Megan Molony, chief merchandising and managed care officer, is assuming leadership of manufacturing and distribution. With this change, the company is uniting all Managed Vision Care functions, including strategy and revenue cycle management, under one umbrella.
  • Mark Banner has been named president of America’s Best. In this new position, Banner’s significant retail leadership and customer experience expertise will play a critical role in leading the transformation of the brand’s in-store experience. In this role, he will also oversee store design and clinical services.
  • Dr. Priti Patel has been named general manager of Eyeglass World, Fred Meyer and military. Patel’s experience provides these brands with a fresh leadership perspective. She will be primarily focused on strengthening the Eyeglass World brand.
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In addition, the following leader’s roles have been expanded to align with the company’s strategic initiatives: Joe VanDette has been named chief brand & marketing officer, Jared Brandman has been named chief legal & strategy officer, and Bill Clark, chief people officer will now assume expanded responsibilities in the areas of transformation, enterprise PMO, and change management.

[READ MORE: Optical retailer taps Sleep Number leader for C-suite role]

“These leaders each bring extensive industry and retail experience that we plan to leverage further with their expanded roles focused on accelerating our transformation efforts and driving profitable growth in our core brands,” said Alex Wilkes, president of National Vision.

In tandem with the leadership announcement, National Vision also announced select preliminary results for the fourth quarter and full year fiscal 2024. In the fourth quarter, net revenue from continuing operations was approximately $437 million, an increase of 3.9% from the same quarter in fiscal year 2023. Comparable store sales growth was approximately 2.6%, and adjusted comparable store sales growth was up 1.5% from the same quarter in fiscal year 2023.

For fiscal 2024, net revenue from continuing operations was approximately $1.8 billion, an increase of 3.8% from fiscal year 2023. Comparable store sales growth was approximately 1.9% and adjusted comparable store sales growth was approximately 1.3% compared to fiscal year 2023. National Vision now expects adjusted operating income from continuing operations to be slightly above the higher end of its previously provided guidance for fiscal 2024.

"We are pleased to have delivered fourth quarter adjusted comparable store sales growth that enables us to provide select preliminary full year results more in line with the higher end of our prior guidance ranges,” said Fahs. “Our fourth quarter performance reflects initial benefits from transformation initiatives as well as the impact from the timing of unearned revenue. We look forward to sharing more on our results and the progress we are making on our transformation when we report fourth quarter earnings.”

National Vision Holdings, Inc. is one of the largest optical retail companies in the United States with over 1,200 stores in 38 states and Puerto Rico.

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