Executive suite: Seeing eye to eye on family values

David Friedfeld, 54, heads a family business that his father started in 1949. The younger Friedfeld has been involved in the business that designs and distributes eyewear off and on since he was 8 years old, when he and his younger brother, Peter, cleaned ashtrays in the office, then in Hempstead.

Today Friedfeld, who has a law degree, is president of the private company, ClearVision Optical of Hauppauge, and his brother is executive vice president. A sister works as manager of new business development. Their parents are no longer involved in the day-to-day operations. Their dad, Fred Friedfeld, is now chairman emeritus.

Since David Friedfeld became president in late 1990s, the number of employees has more than doubled, to about 220 today. The company sells eyewear in more than 30 countries, although most of its business is in the United States with 25,000 to 30,000 independent eye-care professionals. He talks about learning the family business and the challenges of being at the helm. 

How did you learn the business?
"My father was very interested in having me do everything that everyone else did. Even though I was graduated and already had a law degree, if I wanted to join the business, I had to, in essence, start at the bottom. . . . I did some selling. . . . inventory management, receipt of the inventory, the picking and packing or putting away of inventory and at the same time the reordering of the inventory. 

Did you resent having to start at the bottom?
"Not at all. I was very comfortable with all people because I had known them growing up. My father had a very good philosophy that all those people had worked there longer than I did, had more experience than me. I understood that. . . . My dad actually said to me that he'd be happy to have me come into the company under a couple of conditions -- one, that I prove myself; two, that I shouldn't expect to be treated any differently than any new employee." 

What's the best way to avoid the thorny issue of generational succession?
"Transparency is very important. . . . Some good things that happened in the transfer were my dad's leadership in making sure that any of the issues that were going to cause problems. . . . weren't hidden or under the table. . . . We [David Friedfeld and his brother] don't think you should be able to come into the business as an owner, say, after age 35 or 40, because that may indicate to us that a lot of other family members may have done heavy lifting from age 30 to 40, and you maybe want to come in and reap benefits later. So ideally speaking, you're talking to the kids early about how the family operates, what the family values are, what could be expectations for the future." 

What does your workday look like?
"Well, I woke up this morning at 5 a.m. [speaking on a recent Friday]. By 7 I had an email from one of the salespeople with whatever the issue is. And when I go to bed tonight there will be an email from somebody in Hong Kong about a shipment that didn't make it or about a facility [overseas] that is having problems. There's a lot of work, and everyone in the family has to understand that."