Joseph M. Lobozzo II
Mr. Joseph M. Lobozzo II founded JML Optical Industries, Inc.—a company that designs, manufactures, and distributes high-precision optical components and equipment—in 1972. He served as president and CEO until he sold the company in 2011.
He received his bachelor’s degree in physics from the City University of New York in 1966. Mr. Lobozzo earned his executive MBA from the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in 1995, as part of the program’s first graduating class. His career began with Varo Optical in 1966. Shortly thereafter he became a sales engineer with Ednalite Optical. He was the east coast sales manager with Ilex Optical of Rochester from 1969-1972, when he left to establish JML Optical Industries.
Mr. Lobozzo is a longstanding supporter of the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC), and he has been a member of URMC’s Board for 17 years. In 2013, Mr. Lobozzo made a significant commitment to support URMC through the creation of the Joseph M. Lobozzo II Professor in Pediatric Surgery. His support for UR Medicine’s Eastman Institute for Oral Health (EIOH), through the Lobozzo Family Advised Fund of the United Way of Greater Rochester, has included funding a SMILEmobile and the creation of the Eastman Dental Center Bridge Fund. The custom-designed SMILEmobile is a mobile, wheelchair-accessible dental clinic that provides first-of-its-kind access to people with special needs, including older adults, people with developmental disabilities and other medically complex conditions. Through the Eastman Dental Center Bridge Fund, he helped solve the frustrating challenge that faced many patients in wheelchairs who need treatment, giving them safe access to EIOH. His support for Health Sciences at URMC has provided resources for Project Believe to help inner-city children and adults with nutrition and physical activity programs. Mr. Lobozzo has also provided support to UR Medicine’s new Complex Care Center, the David and Ilene Flaum Eye Institute, Golisano Children’s Hospital, Highland Hospital, and endowed the first Palliative Care Clinical Fellowship.
At RIT, Mr. Lobozzo served on the Board of Trustees for 14 years and on the advisory boards for the Center for Integrated Manufacturing Studies and the Saunders College of Business Executive MBA program. He established the Lobozzo Executive MBA Challenge Scholarship, and his support led to the establishment of the Joseph M. Lobozzo II Photonics and Optical Characterization Laboratory at the Kate Gleason College of Engineering. He is the recipient of numerous awards from RIT, including the Saunders College of Business Distinguished Alumni Award in 2001, the Saunders College of Business Herbert Vanden Brul Entrepreneurial Award in 2003, the RIT Outstanding Alumnus Award in 2006, and the 2017 NRS Award—the highest honor given by RIT’s Nathaniel Rochester Society.
Mr. Lobozzo served on the United Way of Greater Rochester board for 32 years and chaired its successful campaign in 2000. He was also a member of Bishop Matthew Clark’s Stewardship Council through the Catholic Diocese of Rochester. He has received the Rochester Chamber of Commerce Small Business Person of the Year award in 1996 and the Alexis de Tocqueville Award in 2004 (United Way of Greater Rochester’s highest local volunteer honor). His philanthropy was recognized by the Genesee Valley Chapter’s Association of Fundraising Professionals in 2009
An avid runner, Mr. Lobozzo has participated in nearly two dozen New York City marathons. He lives in Rochester, NY, and has three children and nine grandchildren.