James V. Mazzo, President, Abbott Medical Optics, Inc. on Entrepreneurship

Winter Quarter 2011 Entrepreneurship Seminar Series

Featuring James V. Mazzo

President

Abbot Medical Optics, Inc.

Free and open to the public



The Entrepreneurship Seminar Series provides a real-world introduction to the theory and practice of entrepreneurship.  Through a series of presentations by prestigious entrepreneurs and industry leaders, participants will explore the various organizational, strategic and financial challenges facing successful and unsuccessful entrepreneurs.  Topics include start-up strategies, business idea evaluation, business plan writing, and introduction to venture capital.

Biography of James (Jim) V. Mazzo

James (Jim) Mazzo is senior vice president at Abbott and president of Abbott Medical Optics Inc. (AMO), the global leader in advanced refractive technologies for eye care professionals and patients. Headquartered in Santa Ana, California, AMO offers market-leading technologies and services designed to address vision disorders at all stages of life.

Mr. Mazzo assumed the position of president following the company’s February 2009 acquisition by Abbott [NYSE: ABT], a global, broad-based healthcare company with more than $30 billion in annual sales. Previously, he was chairman and CEO of Advanced Medical Optics, Inc., a position he assumed following the company’s 2002 spin-off from Allergan.

While CEO of Advanced Medical Optics, Mr. Mazzo grew the company’s sales from $538 million in 2002 to more than $1 billion in 2008 and increased the market cap from approximately $429 million to approximately $1.5 billion. During this time, he also engineered several strategic acquisitions worth more than $3 billion, staking the company to clear leadership positions in the cataract and eye care markets and the global No. 1 position in refractive surgery.

Prior to leading AMO, Mr. Mazzo progressed throughout a 22-year career at Allergan, where he held a variety of senior executive-level positions. He spent approximately 12 years working outside the United States, as president of Allergan’s Europe/Africa/Middle East region, vice president and managing director (Italy), and director of marketing (Canada).

Mr. Mazzo is a strong believer in education and serves on the University of California at Irvine (UCI) Dean’s Board of Directors’ Executive Committee, UCI Dean’s Board of Business and Engineering and is chairman of the UCI Foundation. He is also a trustee for Chapman University and the University of San Diego. Additionally, he is a member of the International Intraocular Implant Club (IIIC) and serves as board chairman of AdvaMed.

For a complete listing of Entrepreneurship Seminar Series guest speakers, please visit http://www.eng.uci.edu/events/entseminars.