(PRESS RELEASE) CHARENTON-LE-PONT, FRANCE – Essilor was awarded the Grand Prix at the 13th Edition of the French Grand Prix FAS for its approach to promoting employee shareholding across the group. The honor follows Essilor’s recent announcement that employee shareholding worldwide surpassed 50 percent, exceeding the company’s goal of 35 percent that had initially been set for 2020.
Employee shareholding has been an essential component of Essilor’s history, culture and business model for over 170 years. Along with the group’s mission, its focus on innovation and its strategy of acquisitions and partnerships, employee shareholding contributes to Essilor’s governance model and is one of the company’s strategic pillars for long-term growth.
This is the fourth time that Essilor has received a prize from the FAS recognizing the its continuous commitment to put employee shareholders at the heart of its governance. At Essilor, employee shareholders’ power is reinforced by Valoptec, the employee shareholders’ association, which closely connects all its members to the group’s decision-making process at every level of its governance. Employee shareholders’ votes are grouped at the Essilor Annual General Meeting; three employee shareholders are members of the group’s board of directors while the Valoptec Board and its associates benefit from regular dialogue with the group’s general management and take part in a yearly vote of confidence in Essilor’s strategy and human resources policies.
“I would like to dedicate this prize to the more than 35,000 Essilor employees who own shares in the company. Active employee shareholding plays a central role in our governance model. It reinforces our employees’ sense of commitment to the group’s mission, which guides our strategy, and aligns their long-term interests with those of the company through a shared ambition for a successful business. Active employee ownership also widens our responsibility to keep pursuing our fight against poor vision around the world. Looking ahead, Essilor’s aim is to continue strengthening the Group’s shareholding culture among all its employees across the world,” said Hubert Sagnières, chairman and CEO of Essilor International.
The group launched a new International Employee Shareholding Plan in September 2017 to consolidate and further expand employees’ involvement in the group’s continuous growth story. Sixty-nine percent of employees in 14 key countries outside France have subscribed to the plan, bringing the percentage of employee shareholders to over 50 percent worldwide by Nov. 30, compared to 21 percent in 2016.