CHARENTON-LE-PONT, France—Essilor announced Friday that employee shareholding worldwide is expected to reach around 65 percent, a 10 percent increase compared with a year ago. More than 45,000 Essilor employees in 58 countries now hold a financial stake in EssilorLuxottica, born following the successful combination of Essilor and Luxottica on October 1st, 2018. After the success of its employee shareholding plan in 2017, Essilor launched “Boost 2018”, a wider employee share ownership initiative. With a subscription rate at a record level of 66 percent, the company’s latest initiative enabled more than 35,000 Essilor employees in over 40 countries to become shareholders of the Group or to increase their participation.

Hubert Sagnieres, Essilor’s chairman, remarked, “The success of our latest employee shareholding initiative reflects the strong alignment of our employees with our strategy and mission of improving lives by improving sight. Since Essilor’s creation, employee shareholding has been a fundamental pillar of the Group’s culture and central to its unique governance model. Looking ahead, as confirmed during EssilorLuxottica’s first General Meeting, we aim at further expanding employees’ involvement in the combined Group’s continuous growth story.”

Essilor’s continuous commitment to placing employee shareholding at the core of its governance has been recognized with Essilor winning, for the second year in a row, the Grand Prix at the 14th edition of the French Grand Prix FAS2 on December 12th, 2018.