Biography
Appointed as one of the world’s first corporate Chief Privacy Officers in 1999, Ray is a recognized pioneer in the field of privacy risk management and data governance. At Topcon Healthcare, he serves as General Counsel with responsibility across legal, privacy, and governance functions for a company at the forefront of applying AI diagnostics to ophthalmic imaging for identification of systemic diseases, and has led a half dozen M&A transactions involving AI applications and data governance considerations. Prior to joining Topcon, he held leadership roles at Blackhawk Network (fintech), Yahoo (media/adtech), TrustArc (compliance software), and Avellino Lab (genetic testing and AI diagnostics). As a data protection consultant, his past clients have included Pfizer, Huawei, ExxonMobil, Fujifilm, Merck, Kellogg’s, Mattel, and Toyota. He holds Fellow of Information Privacy (FIP), CIPM, AIGP, and CIPP/US credentials from the International Association of Privacy Professionals, an organization for which he was a founding board member. He has lectured on data protection law in the LegalTech Diploma program at Université de Montpellier in France (co-certified with Stanford CodeX). He holds a Juris Doctor from George Washington University, in Washington DC, and is a Member of the Maryland State Bar.
