April 21, 2023
Robert J. Palmisano ’66
Global business executive
Doctor of Commercial Science
Robert J. Palmisano ’66 was named an emeritus trustee of Providence College in 2018 after completing three terms on the board, where he served on the Finance Committee and the Strategic Planning Committee.
Mr. Palmisano has been a faithful supporter of college initiatives. He and his wife, Jane, who had already given $1 million to the Our Moment comprehensive campaign, marked their 50th wedding anniversary in 2015 and the 50th anniversary of Mr. Palmisano’s graduation in 2016 by giving another $1 million toward construction of the Arthur and Patricia Ryan Center for Business Studies. The beautiful two-story atrium is named in their honor.
Since January 2021, Mr. Palmisano has been chairman and chief executive officer of Priveterra Acquisition Corp. He previously served as director, president, and chief executive officer of Wright Medical Group, a global orthopedics company, from 2011-2020. Wright was successfully acquired by Stryker Corporation in 2020.
Mr. Palmisano has extensive experience in leading publicly traded medical device and pharmaceutical companies. He was director, president, and chief executive officer of ev3 Inc., a global endovascular device company, from 2008-2011, when it was acquired by Covidian Corporation. From 2003-2007, he was director, president, and chief executive officer of Intralase Corporation, a company that designed, developed, and manufactured laser devices for vision correction. He led the successful acquisition of Intralase by Advanced Medical Optics in 2007.
Mr. Palmisano was director, president, and chief executive officer of MacroChem Corporation, a development stage pharmaceutical corporation, from 2001-2003. From 1997-2001 he was director, president, and chief executive officer of Summit-Autonomous, Inc., a global ophthalmology company that was the first to receive approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for laser vision correction (LASIK). The company was acquired by Alcon, Inc., in October 2000. Prior to 1997, Mr. Palmisano held several executive positions at Bausch & Lomb, including president of the Eyewear Division.
He has been a member of the board of directors of Advanced Medical Optics, Osteotech, Inc., LenSx Lasers, Inc., Bausch & Lomb, Inc., and Avedro, Inc. He currently serves on the board of directors of Saluda Medical and RxSight Corporation.
Mr. Palmisano, who studied political science at PC, and his wife reside in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Duxbury, Massachusetts. They are the parents of three sons, Christopher Palmisano ‘89, Eric Palmisano, and Matthew Palmisano, and are the grandparents of seven.
