| Hansjörg Wyss | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | 19 September 1935 Bern, Switzerland |
| Residence | Wilson, Wyoming, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich Harvard Business School |
| Occupation | Former CEO of Synthes Chairman of The Wyss Foundation and The HJW Foundation |
| Net worth | $6.1 billion (January 2015) |
| Children | Amy Wyss |
Hansjörg Wyss (IPA: /ˈhɑːnz/-jorg wiz) (born 19 September 1935) is a Swiss entrepreneur, businessman, and philanthropist. As of 2015, Wyss ranks number 240 on the Forbes list of billionaires, with a net worth of approximately $6.1 billion.
Early life and career
Wyss was born in Bern, Switzerland in 1935. His father sold mechanical calculators and his mother was a homemaker. He was raised in an apartment with two sisters. After receiving a Master of Science degree in Civil and Structural Engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich in 1959, Wyss earned an MBA from the Harvard University Graduate School of Business in 1965. Following that, he worked in various positions in the textile industry, including plant engineer and project manager for Chrysler in Pakistan, Turkey, and the Philippines.
Wyss also worked in the steel industry in Brussels, Belgium. During his time working in that industry, Wyss ran a side business selling airplanes. Through one sale, he met a surgeon who had co-founded Swiss medical device manufacturer Synthes. After that meeting, Wyss spent two years learning about the medical device industry. He founded and became president of Synthes USA in 1977.
Synthes USA
In 1977, Wyss founded and became president of Synthes USA, the U.S. division of Switzerland-based Synthes medical device manufacturer making internal screws and plates for broken bones. In an early initiative, Wyss opened a Synthes USA manufacturing plant in Colorado. Prior to that, another Switzerland company manufactured Synthes’ devices and exported them to the U.S. Under Wyss’ control, the U.S. division expanded its sales team and trained surgeons how to use its products. Wyss served as Synthes’ worldwide CEO and chairman until his resignation as CEO in 2007. He maintained his post as company chairman until Johnson & Johnson acquired Synthes in 2012. During his tenure, Wyss said discussions of new products made up one-third of board meetings. A manager assigned to the Norian project testified before a grand jury that “for somebody who is at his level and his level of success, I would say he [Wyss] has a surprising amount of contact with what’s going on.” Staffers recalled meetings in which he intensively probed their projects.
In 2009, top executives at Synthes were indicted by U.S. Attorneys for Eastern Pennsylvania for using an untested calcium-phosphate-based bone cement on human patients without the authorization from the Food and Drug Administration, which resulted in the deaths of three people. Wyss was not indicted but four of Synthes’ top executives were convicted and sentenced to prison terms.
In 2012 Wyss sold the company for $21.3 billion in cash and stock to Johnson & Johnson.
Hansjorg Wyss net worth: Hansjorg Wyss is a Swiss entrepreneur and businessman who has a net worth of $6 billion dollars. Born in Bern, Switzerland, Hansjorg Wyss earned his Master’s Degree in Civil and Structural Engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. From there, he went on to attend Harvard University’s Graduate School of Business. He began his professional career working for various textile companies around the world, and eventually became the President of the Swiss medical manufacturing company, Synthes, in the late 70s. He recently sold Synthes to Johnson & Johnson for just over $21 billion, and is now considering retiring and stepping down as Chairman of Synthes. He is a generous philanthropist, and serves on the board of multiple charities focused on ecology and conservation. In 2008, he gave Harvard its largest donation from a single source ever, by donating $125 million to fund a new multi-disciplinary science center.
Source: