This experience created for funny stories throughout my family and friends and eventually inspired me to pursue a career in technology, so out of high-school I enlisted in the United States Navy to study Avionics Engineering aboard the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk and saw the world in “real-time”.

After my military service, I spent the next few years exploring different career paths (i.e. music, sales, fitness) and in 1989 I started my first company… a “Home Theater & Sound Design” business which gave me the opportunity to follow my aspirations. Coming from NJ and raised in a traditional Italian family, the “gift-to-gab” trait came very natural to me. My first business was a very cool gig… after all, who would not want to work with affluent movie and music aficionados who would hire me to design and install high-end “surround sound” theaters and “whole house” music distribution systems in their homes?

In 1992 I landed my first “dream job” working for a national AudioVisual Systems Integrator where enterprise multimedia solutions were the company’s hallmark. Having a military background and a disciplined work ethic, this position gave me the ideal opportunity to learn more and get “my-feet-wet” in corporate America. I was the key liaison between the customer and our design/build engineering team and had the privilege of working with customers that included: Merck & Co., New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Continental Airlines, Pfizer, Statue of Liberty, State Street Boston, Giant’s Stadium, MetLife, Goldman Sachs, Alcatel-Lucent and many others.

 I remained in the AV business for 9-years until I was recruited by a start-up (VC funded) collaboration software company called Sonexis Technology who were based in Boston. My position with Sonexis lasted 16-years and provided me with the tools and resources to leverage growing and building an enterprise business from the ground up. My mission with this nimble start-up was to develop and execute a sustainable (VAR) partner program and a go-to-market strategy QUICKLY as our VC’s were looking for rapid growth then an exit strategy to cash out.

Having equity and an incentive plan to achieve their goals, my tenacious style was a perfect fit for our senior management team. Within a 2-year time frame I recruited and onboarded (41) new reseller partners, some of which, were the largest Avaya business partners in North America which generated over $2M in revenue to Sonexis. With our reseller channel in place I built, managed and coached a US sales team while continuing to hunt and carry my quota as an individual contributor.

As the economy started to show signs of a downward trend in 2007, I was asked to participate in the Sonexis acquisition team to find a buyer and in 2008 a Pittsburgh based carrier-grade conference bridge manufacturer (Compunetix) acquired Sonexis. I was asked to stay on board as Vice President of Sales and as the technology landscape evolved into a “cloud computing” paradigm, I adapted and started introducing solutions that offered a hybrid of on-premise and cloud delivery options which nearly doubled our business.

I was hugely successful and honed the art of “value proposition selling” by cultivated deep relationships with my customers that continue today. In retrospect, the knowledge I gained at Sonexis allowed me to experience an industry progression from analog, to digital and VoIP telephony, to the virtualization of nearly every communication platform available. Today, I see the cloud becoming the dominant provider of unified communications, and a catalyst for all “Internet-of-Things” (IOT). As with any aggressive and ambitious professional, the decision for a career pivot towards starting my own consulting business was inevitable which is why I decided to retire from Sonexis and launch ConnexiCore!

I am happily married with 2 sons and reside in Pike County, Pennsylvania. I love the game of baseball, home carpentry, boating, golfing, and watching classic movies in my home theater. I’m am 100% committed to devoting my life and business experience to helping others achieve their goals and succeed. God Bless America!