(Press Release)
MELVILLE, NY – Marchon Eyewear Inc., a manufacturer and distributor of eyewear and sunwear, has announced that Thomas Burkhardt has joined the company in the newly created position of senior vice president, global licensing and marketing.
In this capacity, Burkhardt will manage the domestic and international licensed brand teams, house brands and sports brands divisions, as well as global marketing, media, creative and PR. He will report directly to the president and CEO of Marchon Eyewear, Claudio Gottardi.
His appointment follows the previously announced promotion of Mark Ginsberg, the former senior vice president of global marketing, to chief marketing officer of Marchon’s parent company VSP Global.
Burkhardt joins Marchon Eyewear from Coty Inc., where he led the Calvin Klein Fragrance & Cosmetics business as vice president of global marketing since 2010. Prior to Coty, Burkhardt spent the majority of his career with Procter & Gamble in Europe with international assignments in Germany, the UK and Switzerland. There he successfully led several global, regional and local businesses in P&G’s Beauty division for brands like Pantene Pro-V, Herbal Essences and HUGO BOSS fragrances.
Burkhardt has a track record of successfully managing global brand management organizations as well as licensing, marketing and creative teams in multiple countries. His extensive background in commercial strategy, product development, brand management capability development, omni-channel and digital marketing will be valuable to Marchon Eyewear as the company focuses on new markets, channels and brand expansions.
“I am pleased that we are starting 2016 with the opportunity to bring all of our licenses and owned brands together under the leadership of Thomas Burkhardt,” says Claudio Gottardi, president and CEO of Marchon. “Thomas brings a strong set of skills that perfectly align with our strategic goals and objectives. We are poised for continued success and look to further our focus on healthy, organic growth and new market expansion.”