Acertitude Lands CEO for Costa Del Mar
April 20, 2016 – Executive search firm Acertitude has placed Holly Rush as chief executive officer of Costa Del Mar, a global provider of polarized performance sunglasses. The search was led by Kevin O’Neill, founder and managing partner, supported by partner Geoffrey Votta.
In her new role, Ms. Rush will draw upon her extensive experience in building portfolios of highly successful consumer brands to guide the company in capitalizing on the market potential for the fastest-growing sunglass brand in the U.S.
Ms. Rush has more than two decades of experience as a leader in luxury, beauty, and consumer goods marketing. Past roles include a series of senior positions with steadily escalating responsibilities and professional accomplishments, working with prominent brands, including Duracell / Gillette, L’Oreal, and Luxxotica.
She was also named one of Vision Monday’s ‘Most Influential Women in Optical’ and is the recipient of the 2015 Visionary Award from the Foundation Fighting Blindness.
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“Holly’s dynamic leadership style fits the Costa culture,” said Eric Thoreux, president of the Sun and Readers / Photochromics division of Essilor, Costa’s parent company. “She has great passion for building high-performance teams and developing big brands. She brings the strategic vision and operational know-how to drive Costa to its next stage of growth globally.”
“Holly is a big leader, exactly the type of person who will take this wonderful company and high quality team and bring it to the next level,” said Mr. O’Neill. “To be successful in leading Costa, the CEO needs to have more than an impressive resume. That person must connect with and build upon the distinct Costa style and personality which has enabled this business to design and manufacture the highest quality sun eyewear while creating remarkable brand loyalty among its passionate consumers. There has to be a special kind of Costa fire within, and Holly has it.”
With more than 25 years’ experience in global talent consulting, Mr. O’Neill has conducted over 500 senior executive and C-level searches in the consumer, industrial, and private equity sectors. Mr. Votta brings a track record discovering and engaging senior leadership teams that deliver measurable success. He specializes in finding automotive, supply chain, and technology leadership.
Since its launch last June, Acertitude has conducted a number of C-level placements, including a chief accounting officer for Brightstar Corp., a chief operating officer for Rise Broadband, a general counsel for Chassix, a chief information officer for Rise Broadband, and a COO for HealthSCOPE Benefits.
Acertitude is a sister company of O’Neill Consulting Group and Technology Executive Group (TEG), specializing in recruiting senior executives in a number of sectors, including consumer, industrial, private equity, professional services, technology, telecommunications & media, healthcare & life sciences, and non-profit & foundations. Its consultants work from offices in Boston, Dallas, London, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Providence, Raleigh, Shanghai, Tampa, and Washington, D.C.
Contributed by Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor, Hunt Scanlon Media
