Q&A With Anthony López, Chair of Prospanica’s National Board of Directors and CEO & Managing Director of Azzur Group, LLC

Q: Most people’s careers are basically a series of opportunities or paths you need to choose from. And sometimes, you may be left wondering, what if I took the other path? Looking back, is there a point in your career you’d like to go back to and see where that path would have taken you just out of curiosity?

I’ve been blessed to have a wonderful professional career thus far. Looking back, there are probably two points that I wonder “what would have been” had I chosen a different path. The first is when I left the active duty Air Force to join Johnson & Johnson. I wonder what my Air Force career would have been like over the next 20 years. I miss serving in the military. The second time that I look back on and wonder “what if” came after I was in ETHICON, J&J for about 10 years. I was working closely with surgeons as I have for many years now, and I felt perhaps I missed my true calling to practice medicine as a surgeon.

 
 Q: Imagine you are going into your most important business meeting ever and you can bring 3 people along as part of your team…who would you bring? 

1. Jocelyn Petersen.  For the past 5 years, while I was President and GM of the Medical Solutions GBU at Ansell Healthcare, she was my right-hand person. She is one of the sharpest professionals I know. 
2. Angie Phillips, also from Ansell Healthcare. She is a phenomenal professional, sharp strategic and analytical mind. I was fortunate to have her on my team for six years. 
3. Alex Gorsky. He is currently the CEO of J&J.  He is an experienced and respected executive, a global thinker, and as a former military officer, he is wired to win.

Q: Tell us what you immediately associate with each one of the following five feelings:

• Anger: uncontrolled and it’s a position of weakness 
• Sadness: losing my mom 
• Joy: my family
• Fear: wasted energy  
• Satisfaction: empowering

Q: If you had a superpower, what would it would be and why? 

Time travel. There is so much history that I would want to experience live, and so many places I would like to see.

Q: What’s on top of your bucket list?

A one on one, 2- to 3-hour meeting with the Pope.

Anthony López is the current Chair of Prospanica’s National Board of Directors and CEO & Managing Director of Azzur Group, LLC.