Rudy Anthony Mazzocchi ascended from this life on August 23rd, 2022. He was surrounded by family in North Georgia, on the land that he and his wife Caroline had intended to build their dream home.
He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on December 5th, 1958, to first-generation immigrant parents; Ralph Mazzocchi from Naples, Italy, and Helga Franziska Graf from Vienna, Austria. Gifted with an aspiring mind, at the age of sixteen, Rudy attended the University of Pittsburgh as a pre-med student, majoring in Biochemistry. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Bioscience and completed his Graduate Studies at U.C.L.A. in Biophysics, concentrating on “Research in Inherited Metabolic Diseases.” He also completed Certified Course Work at Stanford Law, studying Board Governance and SEC Law. Rudy was a star athlete in water polo and rugby. He played rugby for the Santa Monica team and later The Rugby American National Team, where he was known as “Rudedog”.
An accomplished serial entrepreneur, Rudy spent his life contributing to the MedTech Industry. He worked in the very first human genetics lab in the nineteen-seventies. Later in life, he published the acclaimed and best-selling “Equity Series,” three medical thrillers based on his life and career experiences. He also authored Storytelling, The Indispensable Art of Entrepreneurism, an influential business book and required reading at several universities.
His career flourished as an inventor and engineer, he developed medical life-changing technologies, such as the “picc line” and the “heart stent,” also known as “angel wings.” He spent some years as a Venture Capitalist and was said to be “armed and dangerous on both sides of the table” when vetting new engagement opportunities.
Rudy’s extraordinary work has earned him authorship of over 110 patents, including patents in the fields of cardiology, oncology, orthopedics, neurosurgery, ophthalmology and embryonic stem-cell development. He also received multiple business awards including The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, Minnesota’s Technology Leader Award, The Rolex Enterprise Award, Businessman of the Year Award, Global Entrepreneur of the Year, International Top one hundred Professionals, and many more recognitions throughout his forty-plus year career.
He was the Co-Founder and CEO of over seventeen companies and fulfilled numerous contracts with astute ideas, as a Board Member, Advisor, or Executive Chairman, especially to companies in their infancy. Rudy was proud of the development of his most recent companies: BioMedX, PreIpo, OneExchange, Agentix Corp, ASEP Medical, and Establishment Labs, the first Costa Rican company to publicly trade on NASDAQ. The companies he helped found include Microvena, Image Guided Nuerologics, Cytogenesis, Vascular Science, OptiStent, and Elenza. A full list of his ventures can be found on LinkedIn, his personal website www.rudymazzocchi.com (Equity Series), and www.ramadvisorsinc.com (Business/Entrepreneur Life).
Mr. Mazzocchi is survived by his beloved wife Caroline, his father and mother, his sister-in-law Mary Mazzocchi (Randy Mazzocchi, brother, d. 2021), his former wife Maria Sulick (m. Bill Sulick), and their children Lucas Mazzocchi (fiancé Avery) and Anna McHenry (m. Michael), his nieces, Mary Amanda (m. Zachary) and Sarah (m. Gregory) and their children (Amara, Elsa, Ada, and Lila). In addition, Rudy is survived by his spousal in-laws, Jim and Julie Palmour, sister-in-laws Callie Parker and Virginia Palmour, his brothers-in-law Eric Parker and Scott Schenzer, his nieces and nephew Lillian, Margaret, and James, and an extended family in Philpott, Virginia. He also is survived by his beloved dog children Guinevere Giselle, “Gigi” (f. tibetan spaniel, 6) and Genghis Caine “Caine” (m. presa canario, 2).
Rudy and Caroline were devout Episcopalians and Rudy was the Warden at The Church of The Transfiguration, in New York City. Their entire church community and family are grieving his loss.
Blessed with the perfect combination of good looks, charisma, street smarts, and book smarts; Rudy also possessed incredible leadership and was a self-starter. Above all, he was kind, loving, and respectful toward everyone he met or interacted with. You could always count on Rudy’s smile which infected and commanded any room he entered. He was quick to laugh and eager to listen. He would be the first to tell you that when someone leaves this world, “No one remembers or cares what you did, they remember if you were a good person.” Rudy was exactly that, a “good person”, a very very good person, and he will be forever remembered as such.
The funeral commemorating Rudy’s soul to God will be on September 23rd, 2022 in New York City, at his beloved parish The Church of The Transfiguration.
To explore the life of Rudy and to share memories, please visit the following websites. Memorial details will also be available online, at www.mcgaheegriffinandstewart.com
For more photos and stories with the option to send condolences and to make a donation in Rudy’s honor, visit: https://www.forevermissed.com/rudy-a-mazzocchi
McGahee-Griffin & Stewart Funeral Home of Cornelia, Georgia (706/778-8668) is in charge of arrangements.
