Avellino Expands Its Board of Directors and Welcomes New Executive Management Members

MENLO PARK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Avellino announced today the appointment of three new members to its Board of Directors. In addition, the company announced a new Chief Executive Officer and President, and Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer. All appointments are effective December 2020.

The Board of Directors has been further strengthened by the appointment of Aimee S. Weisner, Esq.; Richard Gannotta, NP, DHA, FACHE; and William Stasior, MS, PhD. Joining the executive team is current Board member Jim Mazzo as CEO and President, and Cyril Allouche as CFO and Treasurer.

Avellino Group Chairman Gene Lee said, “All of our newest Board members embody the spirit and ingenuity of Avellino and bring such broad talent, expertise, and energy to the table. We are very fortunate to have them by our side to help us continue to grow as a company. And with Jim moving into a senior executive leadership position, his immeasurable business experience with scientific acumen will enhance our ability to continue to lead the way in delivering best-in-class personalized genetic and molecular diagnostics, data, and therapeutics. Also, we are excited to welcome Cyril to our leadership team. His depth of business experience across multiple industries and preparing companies for entering public markets will be a perfect complement to the scientific expertise we have fostered at Avellino.”

Board of Directors Appointments

Aimee S. Weisner, Esq. is an experienced independent director in the medical device, pharmaceutical and biotech spaces, and she brings significant expertise as a corporate medtech executive and attorney. Most recently, from 2011 to 2019, Ms. Weisner served as Corporate Vice President, General Counsel of Edwards Lifesciences Corporation.

Richard Gannotta, NP, DHA, FACHE is a recognized leader in the health sector with service in CEO / President and executive roles in some of the nation’s most prominent academic and public health systems and a leading global medical technology company. In addition, Dr. Gannotta is Senior Lecturer at the NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service where his area of focus is on the management of healthcare organizations and health policy.

William Stasior, MS, PhD has established himself as a creative innovator with technical expertise at Silicon Valley’s most recognizable technology companies. Dr. Stasior currently serves as Corporate Vice President, Technology, and a member of the Office of the Chief Technology Officer at Microsoft. Prior to joining Microsoft, he was for many years the Vice President, Artificial Intelligence, at Apple and head of Apple’s Siri division. Among many of his career accomplishments, Dr. Stasior also served as the Vice President of Amazon Search and was CEO of Amazon Silicon Valley subsidiary A9.com. Prior to joining the Board, Mr. Stasior provided guidance to Avellino as part of the Executive Advisory Committee.

Chief Executive Officer and President

Avellino appoints Jim Mazzo as the new CEO and President. Mr. Mazzo is one of the ophthalmic industry’s best known and most respected business leaders with over 38 years of proven experience. His global reputation for building and running world-class organizations is based on 22 years leading Allergan’s North American and European eye care organizations. His many accomplishments and contributions to the healthcare, business and educational communities include serving as Board Chairman for AdvaMed as well as Vice-Chairman and Trustee for Chapman University and the University of San Diego.

Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer

Avellino also welcomes Cyril Allouche to the executive team as its new Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer. Mr. Allouche brings to Avellino over 20 years of experience in finance leadership in both public and pre-IPO companies, including diagnostics and biopharmaceutical. He most recently served as CFO at Dermavant Sciences and held finance leadership roles at Revance Therapeutics and CareDx. He also spent over a decade at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Audit and Transaction services.

“The inclusion of Aimee, Richard, and William provides expanded leadership and broader operational, digital, marketing, and commercialization expertise that will surely complement our executive team. Along with Cyril’s deep and extensive experience in leading the financial operations of healthcare businesses, Avellino will continue to grow our genetic and molecular diagnostic tests pipeline and flourish as a company,” said Avellino Group Chairman Gene Lee.

Added newly appointed CEO Jim Mazzo: “It’s exciting times here at Avellino, all of the additions to the boardroom along with the changes taking place at the senior executive level shows that we are set up for success with unlimited potential for tremendous growth. Considering this, and the positive impact Avellino has had in providing testing during the pandemic and their efforts to fight blindness since their inception, and the advances they will bring to healthcare in the future, joining the senior management team was an easy decision for me to make.”

About Avellino

Avellino Lab USA, Inc. is a global leader in gene therapy and molecular diagnostics and is at the forefront of precision medicine for eye care. The company is a proud member of the California State COVID-19 Testing Taskforce, which is focused on the expansion of CoV2 testing and the reduction of testing turn-around times (TAT). Beyond the AvellinoCoV2 test, Avellino recently launched AvaGen, the world’s first DNA test to confirm the presence of genetic indicators that are positively associated with corneal dystrophies and keratoconus genetic risk factors. The company will also soon launch an infectious disease panel of diagnostic tests. Beyond diagnostics, the company is also pioneering CRISPR gene editing to manage and potentially cure inherited diseases. Avellino is headquartered in Silicon Valley, California, with operations in Korea, Japan, China, and the UK.

To learn more about Avellino, please visit www.avellino.com.

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