TIME100 Most Influential Companies 2025: EssilorLuxottica
The French giant behind Ray-Ban, Oakley, Oliver Peoples, LensCrafters, and other brands is bringing eyewear's tech potential into focus. Ray-Ban's second-gen Meta smart glasses, which allow wearers to snap pics, send texts, make calls, and translate languages (among other functions), have sold over 2 million pairs. There's more to come: EssilorLuxottica and Meta in September formed a long-term agreement to produce more smart eyewear products. This year EssilorLuxottica's innovative Nuance Audio 'hearing glasses'—with built-in directional microphones and speakers, the FDA has approved them as over-the-counter hearing aids—went on sale in the U.S. and Europe. The company's portfolio is expanding into eyecare as well. In May, EssilorLuxottica acquired Optegra, which operates over 70 eye hospitals and diagnostic facilities across Europe. The company's strategic vision, it seems, involves bringing everything involving eyes under one roof.
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21 Subtle And Non-Obvious Signs Someone Is Wealthy
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I'm the CEO of the largest superyacht firm in the world. I start my days commuting from France to Monaco and end with a family jam session.
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When traveling, I rely on my team to triage incoming emails and calls. 10 a.m. — Internal meetings and the occasional client interruption I spend the mornings taking internal meetings and catching up with my team. Sometimes, I might be in the middle of a meeting and then get a client call that can last 10 minutes or require me to go spend a few days touring a shipyard with the client. Navigating a universe of extreme exclusivity Our clients are high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) and ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs). Many charter our yachts for vacations, while the wealthiest among them buy vessels outright. We manage 338 superyachts, sell about 50 yachts annually, and book thousands of charter days. There are only about 6,000 to 7,000 superyachts in the world. The most expensive residential real estate sold in the past decade went for around $200 million. Several new superyachts easily exceed that price tag. I have a small 30-foot outboard powerboat and a 28-foot sailboat at my summer cottage in the southwest archipelago of Finland. However, I'd need more than one boat for my dream yacht. For sailing, I'd want something like the Baltic 47 Elsa. For motor yachts, I lean toward a classic gentleman's yacht like the Feadship Santa Maria. Both would pair well with a vintage chase tender like the Monte Carlo Offshorer 32. 12:30 p.m. — Lunch, Monaco-style I eat lunch around 12:30 p.m. Most days, I grab a sandwich from one of the sandwich shops nearby and eat at my desk. When I want to treat myself, I head next door to Quai des Artistes, a traditional French bistro where I sometimes host colleagues or clients. The food is excellent. 2 p.m. - 6 p.m. — Global sync with the US team The afternoons get busy around 2 p.m. or 3 p.m. Monaco time, when our Florida team starts their day. We catch up on recent developments and sync projects to ensure seamless handoffs across time zones. This global coordination is especially critical for our yacht owners' new-build projects and crewing needs. 6 p.m. — Leaving the office for a rock band jam session I leave the office between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. to get home for dinner with my wife and kids. After dinner, I help the kids with homework and play music until bedtime. I play the piano, my son plays the drums, and my daughter sings and plays the guitar. It's almost like a rock band at home. 9 p.m. — The kids go to bed, and I watch Netflix with my wife After the kids are asleep, my wife and I unwind with Netflix. We're hooked on Nordic noir detective shows. Depending on my workload, I might hop on a call or respond to emails from our US or Australia teams. Midnight — bedtime I usually go to bed around midnight and get about 5-6 hours of sleep on weeknights. I reserve weekends for family time, unless there's a yacht show or an urgent client matter that needs my attention. In winter, we head to the Southern Alps, where our children ski competitively while my wife and I ski at a more leisurely pace. We also occasionally travel together for business trips and take short getaways to places like Florence or Northern Italy.
