What Brent Saunders remembers most vividly from his semesters at the Fox School of Business are the late nights. While he pursued his MBA, Mr. Saunders worked for the Thomas Jefferson University Health System, initially in the law department and then in compliance. Upon graduation—Mr. Saunders earned both his MBA and J.D. from Temple University in 1996—he was appointed Thomas Jefferson’s chief compliance officer. The promotion was the first significant stride in what would become a rapid, albeit nonlinear, ascent.
Mr. Saunders says that his professors at Fox consistently stressed the importance of building a team and working well within it. The approach came as a revelation to Mr. Saunders. His undergraduate and J.D. coursework was largely an individual pursuit. To trust in others required an adjustment that he considers a turning point today.
Ask him how he came to be CEO and chairman of Bausch + Lomb, a global eye health company with nearly 13,000 employees, and he’ll say a lot of it can be traced back to the intangibles that Fox helped instill in him: work hard, manage your time, and surround yourself with smart, ambitious people. Mr. Saunders has applied those three principles in his return to Bausch + Lomb, where he previously served as CEO from 2010 to 2013. His vision for the company’s renewed success under his leadership involves balancing two objectives: serving customers and innovating within the eye health space.
Balance is something that Mr. Saunders strives for both in his business and in his personal life. “We all work so hard,” he says, “so you have to figure out what you have a passion for, because we can only fully invest in two to three passions at a time.” He prioritizes his work and family.
Mr. Saunders’ grandfather, who earned his undergraduate degree at Temple University, introduced him to the school. Because of that history alone, Mr. Saunders says, Temple will always remain “a place that’s very special to me.”
Temple University Degree
Juris Doctor ’96, Beasley School of Law; Master of Business Administration ’96, Fox School of Business
Title & Company
CEO and Chairman, Bausch + Lomb
Temple University Awards & Affiliations
Gallery of Success Award
What I wanted to be when I was 20 years old
A lawyer
Best piece of advice anyone ever gave me
“Don’t chase the paycheck. Every time I was faced with a major career decision, I prioritized where I could have the most impact, not where I’d make the most money.”
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