Olympus Corporation of the Americas' Julien Sauvagnargues Steps into CEO Role

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Mar 27, 2024, 10:23 ET

Company Bids Fond Farewell to Former OCA CEO Nacho Abia

Richard Reynolds, President of Medical Systems Group, to Join OCA Board

CENTER VALLEY, Pa., March 27, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Olympus, a leading global MedTech company providing innovative solutions for medical and surgical procedures, announced today the appointment of Julien Sauvagnargues to the role of President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Olympus Corporation of the Americas (OCA), reporting to Olympus Chief Strategy Officer (CSO), Gabriela Kaynor, effective April 1, 2024.

This new step in Mr. Sauvagnargues' career at Olympus, which began in 2006, builds upon his tenure as OCA President since 2020. He will be responsible for overseeing Olympus' activities throughout North and South America from OCA's headquarters in Center Valley, Pennsylvania. As CEO, he will join the Board of Directors for AdvaMed, a prominent MedTech trade association. Recently, he participated in AdvaMed's CEO summit, which annually gathers the leading executives in the MedTech industry. Regionally, he continues to serve on the Board of Directors for the Lehigh Valley Partnership, a consortium of business executives and government leaders.

An additional change in OCA leadership will occur as Richard Reynolds, President of the Medical Systems Group, will join the OCA Board of Directors, the regional governing body committed to the regional business, customers, and employees. In addition, after serving as Deputy General Counsel, David Gomez will assume the role of Corporate General Counsel, OCA, which was previously held by Thomas Glavin, who will retire later this year after nearly eight years at Olympus. Mr. Glavin came to Olympus in 2016 in a consultant role and became the OCA Chief Compliance Officer that same year. In February 2021, he became OCA General Counsel to oversee that region's legal function.

These leadership changes are in part due to the departure from Olympus of Nacho Abia, former OCA CEO and global CSO.

"Julien, Richard and I have worked closely as leaders to help make the North American Olympus business what it is today, the largest contributing region to our global revenue," said Mr. Abia. "Although I'm excited for my next journey, I'm looking forward to watching their success as they take OCA to inspiring new places."

Mr. Abia has accepted the position of CEO for Grifols, a pharmaceutical company based in Barcelona, Spain, Mr. Abia's original home. His last day at Olympus is March 31, 2024. Mr. Abia was the first employee of Olympus Spain, currently known as Olympus Iberia. In 2011, he moved to Center Valley, Pennsylvania to join OCA and assumed the responsibility of President for its Consumer Imaging Business Division.

In 2013, he was promoted to the role of President of OCA and in March 2015 was also appointed as its CEO. In 2020, he was promoted from President of the OCA region to take on global leadership roles as an Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer of Olympus Corporation. He was also a member of OCA's Board of Directors and of the Global Executive Committee of Olympus in Tokyo. Mr. Abia has been pivotal in leading the business in the company's largest market in terms of sales, setting strategic direction, optimizing the company's business portfolio, and guiding the direction for future innovation.

"We cannot be grateful enough for Nacho's 23-year tenure with this company," said Stefan Kaufmann, CEO, Olympus Corporation. "We will miss him greatly, but also we're delighted that Julien will take the reins for the many exciting initiatives to come."

About Olympus
At Olympus, we are committed to our purpose of making people's lives healthier, safer and more fulfilling. As a global medical technology company, we partner with healthcare professionals striving to provide best-in-class solutions and services for early detection, diagnosis and minimally invasive treatment, aiming to improve patient outcomes by elevating the standard of care in targeted disease states. For more information, visit medical.olympusamerica.com.

SOURCE Olympus Corporation of the Americas