Richard Rapoza has more than 35 years of experience in the cardiovascular field. He has led the development, scale-up, and applicability of game-changing medical technologies including the revolutionary AI in Ultreon 2.0, the world’s first commercially available drug-eluting bioresorbable vascular scaffold (BVS), self-expanding stent platforms for carotid and peripheral applications, and coronary stents including Abbott’s first bare-metal stent platform.
Richard was instrumental in Abbott’s initiatives to make clinical trials more accessible and inclusive of historically excluded patient populations. He is deeply committed to ensuring clinical trials more accurately reflect the people who are burdened by vascular diseases. Richard sits on Abbott’s Diversity in Research Medical Advisory Board which provides guidance on the design of future clinical trials.
Previously at Abbott, Richard held executive leadership positions across the Vascular business, including Vice President and General Manager, BVS group, Vice President, R&D, Peripheral Devices, Vice President, Operations, and Divisional Vice President, R&D. Prior to joining Abbott, he served in senior roles at Guidant and Advanced Cardiovascular Systems.
Richard holds a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, an MBA from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Washington. Richard is a Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering.