GARDEN CITY, N.Y.--Robert Cohen, OD, president and chief executive officer of retailer Cohen’s Fashion Optical, resigned from the board of directors of Sterling Optical parent Emerging Vision (OTC BB: ISEE.OB) last week, a few days after the franchise division of the Cohen’s chain was sold to an affiliate of Houchens Industries.

Robert Cohen’s resignation from Emerging Vision’s board and its executive committee came on March 5, according to a filing by the company that day with the Securities and Exchange Commission. According to the SEC filing, as a component of the sale Cohen executed an employment agreement with the Houchens affiliate which, among other things, prohibits him from serving as a director on Emerging Vision’s board. In the wake of the sale, Cohen is continuing in his role of directing and overseeing the Cohen’s chain’s daily operations, he told VMail last week.

Robert Cohen and his brother, Alan Cohen, OD, have been Emerging Vision board members since that company’s inception in 1992. Robert Cohen is a former chairman and chief executive officer of Emerging Vision; Alan Cohen has served as the firm’s board chairman since May 2002, and continues in that role.

Emerging Vision is currently evaluating candidates to replace Robert Cohen on its board, the SEC filing said.