Miami, Fla., Oct. 11, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Innovative Eyewear, Inc. (“Innovative Eyewear” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: LUCY; LUCYW), a developer and retailer of cutting-edge smart eyewear and operator of the Lucyd^® and Nautica^® brands for smart eyewear, is pleased to announce that it has added two eyewear industry veterans, with deep international experience, to its team.

Mr. Ekene Ofodile, a respected business leader with substantial experience in Global Sales, Sales Operations and Business Management, has joined the Company as Sr. Vice President, Sales and Marketing.  Mr. Ofodile has demonstrated an ability to work across all levels of an organization to develop high performance partnerships that drive profitable revenue growth.  

Most recently, Mr. Ofodile served as the Head of Sales, North America for a portfolio of outdoor / work wear brands acquired from Honeywell International by Rocky Brands, Inc. From 2018 – 2021, he held the position of Director of Strategic Account Sales at Honeywell International’s Safety & Productivity Services Retail division driving global growth of footwear, PPE, hearing & vision protection products within high volume key accounts. 

Mr. Ofodile previously served at Randolph Engineering Eyewear Inc.as its Senior Vice President, Global Sales & Marketing, where he spent 4 years developing and executing strategic growth plans for the Randolph and Ranger Eyewear Brands. Prior to Randolph Engineering, Ekene spent 15 years at New Balance Athletics as Head of International Sales Operations. 

“I believe Harrison Gross & the Innovative Eyewear team are disrupting the eyewear industry with smart frame technology. I am thrilled to be joining the Company at this pivotal moment and look forward to contributing to its very bright future.” said Mr. Ofodile.

Ms. Jan Cory has also joined the Company as VP of Global Optical Sales and Marketing.  With many successful years as part of the optical community, Ms. Cory will be charged with further developing this important channel of trade for Innovative Eyewear.

Ms. Cory began her optical career in frames at Bausch + Lomb where, after its acquisition by Luxottica, she spent 12 years.  Her more recent experience is as CCO at I-deal Optics, Holdings, Senior Director at IDOC, US President at Silhouette International, and SVP of Sales for US and Canada at Viva/Marcolin.   

Ms. Cory was named by Vision Monday as one of the Most Influential Women in Optical in 2015.  She proudly serves on the Board of the Optical Women’s Association.

“Innovative Eyewear brings incredible innovation to eyewear.  I am thrilled to share this cutting-edge technology with the ECP, (eye care professional sector) and I’m excited to be part of the future,” said Ms. Cory.

"We are excited and honored to add both Ekene and Jan to our team," said Harrison Gross, CEO of Innovative Eyewear, Inc. "Their combined eyewear industry knowledge and track record of developing significant sales should help us rapidly scale our smart eyewear business in both retail optical and non-optical channels worldwide.” 

About Innovative Eyewear, Inc.

Innovative Eyewear is a developer and retailer of smart eyewear, which are designed to allow the users to remain connected to their digital lives, while also offering prescription eyewear and sun protection. The Company believes that traditional frames, no matter how attractive, do not possess the functionality that many eyeglass wearers need and want. Smart eyewear is a multifunctional product that addresses the needs of the optical, hearables and digital assistant markets. The Company’s mission is to Upgrade Your Eyewear^®. For more information, please visit www.lucyd.co. 

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements, including those relating to the anticipated timing of completion of the offering and other statements that are predictive in nature. Forward-looking statements are based on the Company's current expectations and assumptions. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a safe-harbor for forward-looking statements. These statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking expressions, including, but not limited to, “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “estimate,” “expect,” “future,” “intend,” “may,” “outlook,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “will,” “would” and similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the expected launch date for the new Nautica smart eyewear connection. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements are set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its registration statement on Form S-1, as amended from time to time, under the caption “Risk Factors.”

Investor Relations Contact:
Scott Powell 
Skyline Corporate Communications Group, LLC 
Office: +1 (646) 893-5835 
Email: scott@skylineccg.com