Cooper Cos., a Lake Forest-based contact lens maker, will be looking for a chief executive soon.
The company said Tuesday that longtime head A. Thomas Bender will relinquish the chief executive’s role by the end of this year. He’s set to have a continuing role at the company.
Cooper’s board is working on a succession plan and plans to look at internal and external candidates.
The company also said that it’s going to combine its CooperVision Inc. and Cooper headquarters operations and shift several other executives.
Gregory Fryling, CooperVision’s president, is leaving to pursue other opportunities. Robert Weiss, Cooper’s chief operating officer and executive vice president, will also take on Fryling’s responsibilities. Steven Neil, currently vice president and chief financial officer, was named executive vice president and chief financial officer.
Cooper’s faced its share of challenges in recent months, including shipping delays, sluggish contact lens sales and a critical lag in coming out with a new type of lens already being sold by rivals. Earlier this year, a French investment bank and magazine reported that France’s Essilor International SA could be in talks to buy Cooper for $2.7 billion.
