5. EssilorLuxottica
$19,466,366,000*
(€17,390,000,000)
Charenton-le-Pont, France
2019 rank: 10
R&D spend: $325,745,400
Employees: 150,000
*Fiscal year ended 12/31/2019
The Franco-Italian eyeglasses giant in September announced a collaboration with Facebook to produce the next generation of smart glasses. The first product will launch under the Ray-Ban brand in 2021. “Combining a brand that is loved and worn by millions of consumers around the globe with technology that has brought the world closer together, we can reset expectations around wearables. We are paving the way for a new generation of products destined to change the way we look at the world,” Rocco Basilico, chief wearables officer at Luxottica, said in a news release. Other recent announcements include the launch of Stellest in China. EssilorLuxottica describes Stellest as a revolutionary new lens to manage myopia in children. – CN
Key personnel: Paul Du Saillant, CEO; Chrystel Barranger, president, Europe & photochromics; Jayanth Bhuvaraghan, chief mission officer; Ernesto Diaz, president, Latin America; Rick Gadd, president, North America; Norbert Gorny, co-COO; Eric Leonard, chief integration officer & corporate strategy; Grita Loebsack, chief marketing officer; Frédéric Mathieu, corporate SVP, human resources; Bernhard Nuesser, president, AMERA, online & digital; Arnaud Ribadeau Dumas, president, Greater China & instruments; Éric Thoreux, co-COO; David Wielemans, CFO