Business “Generalist” Speaks to DECA

Executive Director at USRowing Rich Cacioppo spoke to the DECA club on “The Case for Being an All-Around Athlete” or becoming a well-rounded businessman.
Cacioppo, father of Richie ’27 and husband of Headmaster Administrative Assistant and DECA Advisor Michele Cacioppo, described the stops along his career, including serving as vice president at Frontdoor where he was involved in software production and engineering, Amazon where he built hardware and software products, and Apple where he was involved in product management. His first job was as an investment analyst at the private equity firm Reservoir Capital Group.

All these experiences led back to his first love: rowing. He rowed at Columbia University and holds a deep affinity for the sport. Now he sees himself as a generalist combining his experience in programs, finance, operations, marketing, communications – and rowing.

“Generalists are pretty broad and know just enough [in many different fields] to be dangerous and hopefully find ways to partner well with people who are specialists.”
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