PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y.—Luxottica USA, wholesale division of Luxottica Group (NYSE: LUX), has named Milena Cavicchioli its new vice president marketing to succeed Victor Melendez who has left the Group. Cavicchioli has spent the last 12 years at Luxottica Group corporate headquarters in Milan where she covered a number of different marketing and trade marketing international roles. Most recently, she was responsible for the design and implementation of a new marketing function dedicated to the global wholesale division of the Group and has spent a considerable amount of time focusing on the North American market, the company said.

“The arrival of Milena Cavicchioli” said Andrea Dorigo, president Luxottica Wholesale North America, “marks the completion of our new leadership team and follows a series of senior executive appointments that have taken place over the last few weeks. Besides Milena, Holly Rush, senior vice president sales, Nicolas Tesoriero, vice president finance and operations, and Andrea Guaraldo, vice president human resources and organization, are part of the new senior management team that will lead Luxottica USA into the future.”

Rush comes with over 20 years in sales for Procter & Gamble and L’Oreal. Before joining Luxottica in March this year she was vice president sales for the medical division of L’Oreal USA. “In her last role, Holly had the opportunity to complement her strong track record in sales with a solid understanding of how doctors think about their profession and operate their practices. This was a key requirement for us,” Dorigo said. Rush will oversee all Luxottica sales in the U.S., including sales to independent practitioners, optical retailers and department stores.

Tesoriero led the finance departments of Luxottica Canada and Luxottica USA over the last seven years after building his financial skills with companies such as Citibank and Fidelity Investments. “Nicolas has demonstrated a genuine passion for the operational side of our business which, first and foremost, is about providing our customers with the kind of customer service they expect from the industry leader, this is his challenge now,” commented Dorigo.

Guaraldo joins the U.S. team from Milan where he was in charge of HR for the wholesale division globally. After a career in management consulting he specialized in HR and worked for Barilla and GlaxoSmithKline in Italy before joining Luxottica Group six years ago. “We strongly believe that in ours, like in any other business, people are the most important part. With Andrea we decided to take our ability to recruit, motivate and reward the best people in the market to a whole new level. In the wholesale business especially, the importance of people cannot be overstated,” added Dorigo.

“With this team, we renew our commitment to our customers, in particular to the independents. Delivering the best service is just as important for us as the quality of our products and the appeal of our brands. In 2011, Luxottica celebrates 50 years of manufacturing excellence and I believe that this exceptional group of people will improve and innovate our services to wholesale customers within the tradition of a company that has quality and customer orientation in its blood,” Dorigo concluded.