When Cooper Cos., the Lake Forest-based maker of contact lenses and women’s surgical products, announced Chief Executive Tom Bender would leave this year, talk among company watchers turned to a successor.
One Wall Street analyst pegged the right choice.
Larry Biegelsen, a Prudential Equity Group analyst, took note in April that Chief Operating Officer Bob Weiss,now set to replace Bender as chief executive,was taking on a more prominent role.
“We noticed that Weiss provided the commentary in the (quarterly earnings) release, in contrast to previous press releases where Bender provided the commentary,” Biegelsen said.
“Based on the change in the press release commentary, we think Mr. Weiss will likely be the next CEO and that an announcement may occur in the next quarter or so,” he added.
Weiss’ appointment happened late last month. Weiss took over as chief executive at the start of this month. He’s been with Cooper since 1977.
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Bender: “I think a CEO can stay on a long time, but if you’re not a founder, typically the rule is five years is enough” |
Bender is set to “maintain a continuing role” at the company, Cooper said in a release.
Weiss is based out of Cooper’s Pleasanton operations in the Bay area. Earlier, he served as president of CooperVision, the company’s dominant contact lens division.
It also looks like Weiss’ appointment stands to end Cooper’s time as an Orange County-based company.
Cooper lists Pleasanton as its address in Securities and Exchange Commission filings, though Lake Forest is where Bender and other top officials have been based, making it the company’s de facto headquarters.
Earlier this year, Bender, who took Cooper’s top job in 1995, said he felt it was time for a change.
“It’s philosophical with me,” he said. “I think a CEO can stay on a long time, but if you’re not a founder, typically the rule is five years is enough. I certainly have been here a lot longer than that.”
Bender also said that his age,he’s 68,was a factor in his decision, along with the fact that “I have grandchildren and there (are) other priorities in life.”
Weiss will have a tough act to follow.
Bender, a stylish, outspoken type who worked at Irvine drug maker Allergan Inc. from 1966 to 1991 before joining Cooper, led the company through a spurt of growth in the late 1990s and earlier this decade.
He spearheaded Cooper’s $1.2 billion buy of rival contact lens maker Ocular Sciences Inc. in 2005, along with 23 deals to build up Cooper’s women’s surgical business.
The past couple of years have been tougher. Cooper has wrestled with shipping delays, sluggish contact lens sales and a critical lag in coming out with silicone hydrogel lenses, which rivals Johnson & Johnson, Novartis AG’s Ciba unit and Bausch & Lomb Inc. beat Cooper to the market with.
Masimo, Apria Deal
Masimo Corp., which recently joined the ranks of OC’s publicly traded medical device makers, has expanded beyond its core hospital customers.
The Irvine-based company signed a deal with Apria Healthcare Group Inc. to provide pulse oximetry products and accessories for Lake Forest-based Apria’s home healthcare business.
Masimo’s pulse oximeter is attached to a finger or a toe and measures oxygen levels in critically ill adults and newborns.
Apria provides breathing treatments and other services to patients in their homes.
“This partnership with Apria marks Masimo’s entry into the home care market,” said Joe Kiani, Masimo’s chief executive. “Our mission has been to improve patient safety and reduce cost of care by taking noninvasive monitoring to new sites and applications.”
Ista Expands Office Space
Ista Pharmaceuticals Inc., an eye drug maker, said it is adding more office space in Irvine, according to an SEC filing.
Ista said it signed a deal with landlord Alton Plaza Property Inc. to lease an extra 8,181 square feet of office space at 15285 Alton Parkway. The expanded lease is set to start Dec. 12 and expire in 2010.
The company now leases about 45,000 square feet of space in Irvine.
Ista also said in its filing that it extended the term of its lease for space at 15279 and 15295 Alton, including for its headquarters, from late 2009 to late 2010.
Under its current lease, Ista said it would have access to some 52,920 square feet of laboratory and office facilities in Irvine.
Bits and Pieces:
Clarient Inc. of Aliso Viejo said it released a new version of Pathsite, Internet-based software that allows pathologists to analyze cells. Clarient is working with De Novo Software, a company with offices in Los Angeles and Thornhill, Ontario, on the software South Coast Medical Center for New Medicine, an alternative clinic in Irvine, started offering what it calls “medical/dental” alternative services, which use the mouth as a barometer for treating the rest of the body.
