We Are JumpStart Exports

I am writing this letter of recommendation with respect to the time I spent with Steve de Luca at Phusion Projects from July, 2011 until my departure in January 2014. Mr. de Luca is a motivated self-starter who requires little supervision and understands not only how all areas of the organization work, but also how they work together.When Mr. de Luca and I were introduced, it was through a mutual friend when I was discussing with this person our organizations’ desire to expand globally. At the time, we were only selling our products domestically but understood the opportunity available to us should we be able to successfully enter into overseas markets. The challenge we faced at the time was that we were dealing with many issues that required the full time attention of the senior management team.

Any person that we brought in would need to be able to work on their own with little oversight and had to hit the ground running. After a few interviews with Mr. de Luca, it was clear to me that he was the person for the job. To say that he did not disappoint would be an understatement.

From the first day, Mr. de Luca outlined a plan of action and presented it to us in a clear and thorough manner. He studied the various opportunities available to us and recommended a course of action, which he attacked with vigor once approved. His recommendations demonstrated an understanding of complex issues across various markets, none of which functioned in the same way. He was able to speak to the marketing people, the production supervisors, the legal team, and the senior executives each in a way that engaged them and made them feel comfortable.

Mr. de Luca oversaw the double-digit annual growth of his division going from $0 in 2011 to over $3MM in 2013 with 1 full time direct report in an office from his home as opposed to in corporate headquarters. As the markets we expanded into grew from 1 to 13, his working hours became more and more challenging as he was dealing with multiple time zones around the world. He was able to handle this with apparent ease and always had a positive attitude, even in the face of bad news. He was not one to take no for an answer on the first pass and his persistence was one of his dominant traits.

I hope that I have the opportunity to work with Mr. de Luca again in the future. I always enjoyed our interactions and learned a great deal from him. He was an excellent success partner and any organization would be lucky to have him.

This letter is my personal recommendation for Steve de Luca. I have worked with Steve for the last few years and always found him to be an engaging personality and a team player with a strong work ethic.

Besides being a model employee, Steve is a take charge person with the ability to get things done. In fact, Steve first incubated, then led, the creation of a business which developed from nothing in early 2012 to a significant business spanning 15 countries and territories. Most recently, the International Division led Phusion’s sales growth with an increase of more than 3-fold over last year’s first quarter.

As such, I would urge any branded food and beverage company interested in taking their business globally to consider Steve and his international network as an asset, in either a full-time business development capacity or as a contractor. If you are considering Steve and his team, I would be pleased to receive your call to answer any further questions that you may have.

Steve consistently exhibited a strong work ethic and attention to detail. Through his dedication and perseverance, Steve was able to build Phusion’s international business from zero sales in mid-2011 to profitable sales in 15 countries and territories by April 2014. In sum, Steve worked tirelessly and professionally to help put Phusion on the global map.

Steve’s skills in building an international business unit will be a tremendous asset to any food and beverage company. Please feel free to contact me to discuss how Steve could be an asset to your business.

I would like to recommend Steve de Luca as a candidate for a position with your organization. Steve joined our team as Phusion Projects’ first Vice President of International Development, and led our expansion into multiple countries including Canada, Mexico and multiple European and Latin American markets. He had multiple distribution and agency contracts in all those markets and a good understanding of the requirements of each.

Steve is an aggressive salesman and effective multi-tasker. He thinks both strategically and tactically and provides well-organized plans. Steve will bring valuable experience to any company he joins.

This letter is to provide my recommendation of Steve de Luca. I have worked with him since 2011, when he first acted as a Business Development Consultant, and then as a member of the Phusion team in early 2012. Over this period of time, I’ve worked with Steve either directly or indirectly on a variety of projects. These included monthly product production decisions based on Steve’s proposals, product cost reviews, production feasibility assessments and canning agreements, as well as sku rationalization and management. In the earlier stages there was also much R&D-related work, which Steve set up with our R&D Partner. This involved new product formulation development and adaptation to comply with various laws in overseas markets. Steve was able to start and build a business from zero sales in mid-2011 to profitable sales in 15 countries and territories by April, 2014. In the first quarter of 2014, International sales more than tripled vs. prior year, after nearly doubling the year before.

Steve and his international skill set and network can be a tremendous asset to any branded food and beverage company interested in taking their business globally. Whether in a full-time business development capacity or as a contractor, Steve can provide this global access.