Spectacle Eyeworks names David Blum CEO

Spectacle Eyeworks Inc, the award-winning Canadian optical design boutique, announced the appointment of David Blum as CEO. Blum will have responsibility for the company's brand management, marketing, product production, customer service, new business development, as well as the company's international business.

Blum, 40, has been working with Spectacle as a consultant on and off for the last couple of years but will now be leading the day-to-day operations of the company, effective January 1, 2010. Blum has spent the bulk of his 17-year career in sales, marketing, and operations, having held executive positions with Razorfish, the world’s largest Interactive Agency, and most recently as the Executive Director of Interactive Services for independent agency, Butler, Shine, Stern and Partners located in Sausalito, CA. Blum also brings specific optical industry experience having worked with such brands as Alain Mikli, Microshapes, Salt and West Coast Lens while running his own San Francisco-based agency, Tangible Studios.

Mehran Baghaie, Spectacle’s founder and Executive Creative Director said, “David’s track record of success and his ability to build and lead teams to profitable outcomes is precisely what the company needs right now.

I am excited and relieved to have David coming on board, which will allow me to focus exclusively on
product development and design which are my passions. I am looking forward to working with David to continue to fuel the company’s growth.”
“I am thrilled to be joining one of the most innovative and progressive optical companies in the world,” said Blum. For more than 11 years, Mehran and the Spectacle Eyeworks Brand have pioneered optical design through unexpected styles and the uncommon materials they apply to their products."

Blum’s arrival will allow Baghaie to focus on product development, design, and key customer relationships while Blum will work to quickly improve operations, marketing, product production, and customer service.
“My job is to run the business and let Mehran continue to be the design genius he’s proven to be. Spectacle has tremendous potential to grow and prosper and my focus will be to realize the company's promise.”
Blum is a graduate of UC San Diego and received his MBA from the Simon School of Business at the University of Rochester in upstate New York.