He led Lafont Paris and the Silmo Paris Exhibition.
Philippe Lafont, who was president of president Lafont Paris and of the Silmo Paris Exhibition, has died.
He founded the Lafont house with his wife, Laurence, in 1979. According to the company’s website, Lafont Paris operates four boutiques under its own name and exports to more than 40 countries.
The company stated in a press release: “A tireless advocate for ‘made in France,’ Philippe was involved in the development and cultivation of the international optics industry in his role as president of SILMO, as well as his contributions to GIFO. Most recently, he used his standing in the optical community to promote French ingenuity and manufacturing. As board members holding key management positions for the last ten years, Thomas and Matthieu Lafont will continue to support their father’s efforts promoting the ‘made in France’ proposition.”
In a statement on its website, Silmo described Lafont’s passing as “a huge loss for all who were fortunate enough to work with him.”
“Since 2012, Philippe Lafont has devoted himself to developing the exhibition, seeking to make SILMO a flagship forum for all industry stakeholders,” Silmo said in the statement.
“Continuing the work begun by Guy Charlot, Philippe’s commitment has seen SILMO become a valuable tool for opticians and helped to raise the profile of the French optics sector. Under his leadership, SILMO has also pursued its international development.”