A new COO has been named.
DULUTH, GA — National Vision Inc. announced the planned retirement of Bruce Steffey, president and chief operating officer, effective Sept. 1. Upon Steffey’s retirement, Jeff McAllister, a senior vice president at Walmart and 19-year Walmart veteran, will succeed him as COO.
Steffey’s career has included more than 30 years of specialty retail experience in both jewelry and optical. His jewelry career began with Service Merchandise, where he spent 19 years, followed by Zales Corp., where he spent seven years. He has served as National Vision’s COO since October 2002 and president since 2012.
“For all of us at National Vision, working with Bruce has been a complete and utter joy,” said Reade Fahs, CEO of National Vision. “Bruce is one of those rare leaders who demands and gets the best results out of people while concurrently both supporting and inspiring them. Bruce has been a great partner to me, the Board and our entire team. Bruce’s presence will be deeply missed by all of us at National Vision.”
Steffey said, “Serving on National Vision’s leadership team for the last 15 years has been the highlight of my career. It has been an honor and privilege to work with the many incredibly talented Associates in stores across the country, and I am proud of all we have accomplished together. I am confident in the high-caliber leadership that Reade and Jeff will continue to provide. I believe the Company is well positioned for a successful future and look forward to watching their progress continue.”
McAllister, a Navy Veteran, joined Walmart in 1998 as vice president of logistics engineering and planning. He has since served in a variety of supply chain and operations capacities, including vice president of Walmart’s Global Supply Chain, COO for Walmart Japan and senior vice president for optical. In addition, he led operations for Walmart’s Health and Wellness Group and for Walmart’s Texas Division. His current role is senior vice president, Next Generation Supply Chain, for Walmart U.S. Prior to joining Walmart, he managed logistics for Saks Fifth Avenue and May Department Stores.