Al Mann Dies, Leaving Legacy of 17 Companies

Serial entrepreneur Alfred E. Mann died on Thursday. He was 90. Mann founded and helped fund 17 companies during his career, including aerospace company Spectrolab Inc. in Sylmar, retinal prosthetics developer Second Sight Medical Products Inc. in Sylmar and insulin pump manufacturer MiniMed Inc., which was later acquired by Medtronic Inc. Some of his enterprises developed groundbreaking devices, such as the insulin pump, the first rechargeable pacemaker as well as reliable batteries for medical products and the aerospace industry. More than half of Mann’s companies were acquired for a combined total of nearly $8 billion. In addition, two of his businesses went public, including MannKind Corp. in Valencia, which develops an inhalable insulin known as Afrezza. Earlier this month, Mann resigned from his executive chairman and board member positions at MannKind Corp., and was named chairman emeritus of the company. Mann died in Las Vegas, where he has a home. He leaves behind his wife Claude and seven children.