1/23/06 Contact: David M. Granger, 334/844-9999 (grangdm@auburn.edu)
Deedie Dowdle, 334/844-9999 (ddowdle@auburn.edu)

BRADLEY TO SERVE AS LOWDER VISITING EXECUTIVE IN RESIDENCE

AUBURN - Kerry Bradley, chief operating officer of Luxottica Retail, the $3.5 billion North American arm of Italy’s Luxottica Group, will be the Lowder Visiting Executive in Residence in the Auburn University College of Business on Wednesday, Jan. 25.

Luxottica Retail is the North American leader in eye care and eyewear, including contact lenses and sunglasses, with more than 4,500 stores operating as LensCrafters, Pearle Vision, Sears Optical, Target Optical and Sunglass Hut.

A native of Nashville, Tenn., Bradley received his bachelor’s degree in marketing from Auburn in 1979 and his master’s degree from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1980. While at Auburn, he was a leader in his fraternity, the performing arts, Red Cross blood drives and various leadership societies, and received the Outstanding Student award from the School of Business as well as the Algernon Sidney Sullivan Award from the New York Southern Society.

Bradley started his career in advertising brand management with Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati, Ohio. From there he started his own marketing research and consulting firm in Nashville, but left after two years to join one of his clients - LensCrafters - which has been his home ever since. He progressed to executive vice president of marketing and strategy over a period of years, and was promoted to chief operating officer in 2001 following LensCrafters’ acquisition of Sunglass Hut.

Bradley resides with his wife, Laura, and their three teenage children in Mason, Ohio. He is chairman of the Elder Board at his church, a board member of Athletes in Action ministry, a spokesman for Impact 21 ministry across the U.S. and a community advisor to his local school
board.

While on campus, Bradley will speak to several business classes as well as participate in a faculty roundtable discussion. Members of the community are invited to join students at 2 p.m. in Lowder 129 as Bradley speaks to the undergraduate marketing strategy course.

The Robert and Charlotte Lowder Visiting Executive-in-Residence Program provides students and faculty with an opportunity to interact with prominent executives for an open exchange of views on current issues. Through this vital program, executives are brought into the classroom to offer students first-hand information about the complexities of the business world, while giving them the inspiration they need to seek new ways to meet the challenges of tomorrow.

Auburn University is a preeminent land-grant and comprehensive research institution with more than 23,000 students and 6,500 faculty and staff. Ranked among the top 50 public universities nationally, Auburn is Alabama’s largest educational institution, offering more than 230 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degree programs.

(Contributed by Dina Kanellos.)

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