Professor Angelo Mastrangelo’s business career followed a pathway most think is possible only in fictional odes to the American dream. After starting out as stock boy and then working as a milkman in New York State in the 1960s, Mastrangelo landed a job as a salesman at Canada Dry in Southern, New York, without any college education. He rose through the ranks to become Canada Dry’s sales supervisor and was quickly promoted to general manager at Bev-Pak, Inc., a division owned by Canada Dry. 

Seven years later, after working as plant manager at C&C Cola (formerly Bev-Pak), a division of ITT, Mastrangelo purchased Bev-Pak in 1980 and renamed it Adirondack Beverages. He then led a bold turnaround, increasing the company’s sales by 500 percent at a time of industry-wide crisis. Four years prior to selling Adirondack Beverages to the investment bank Dillon Reed, Mastrangelo implemented new companywide TQM, or total quality management, programs. 

These earned Adirondack Beverages several local and regional awards, including the Top Ten Award for Outstanding Companies in the Capital District by the Albany Chamber of Commerce. Many of Mastrangelo’s TQM programs are still in place today—a testament to him weathering the “Cola Wars” with courage, grace, and long-ranging wisdom. 

After attending the highly regarded Owner/President Management (OPM) program at Harvard Business School, Mastrangelo decided to explore the “theoretical” reasons for his real-world successes. He entered into the organizational studies PhD program at Albany University in 1994 and earned his degree in 2000. In 2001, he began teaching leadership and entrepreneurship at Binghamton University. In 2007 he was named as one of the top Entrepreneurship Professors in the USA by Fortune Small Business. Since 1987, Mastrangelo’s Second Chance Scholarship Foundation has helped more than 1,400 local students go to college.

Mr. Mastrangelo credits his successes to watching his hardworking grandfathers and uncles, who worked at a local tannery in New York State. Seeing their struggles up close instilled in him an unstoppable work ethic—one that eventually won him the loyalty of employees and students alike. Says one of Angelo’s students, “I wanted to write and thank you again for everything you did to shape the person I am today. It was amazing to have you as an educator and mentor. You made me realize that entrepreneurship was and is an option and that I could think about what type of job I wanted to create, not just what type of job I wanted to get.” Alec Hess, Full Voice Media, LLC | Principal Online Marketing and Design Solutions

Angelo is happy to help any classmates or alumni who may have questions about entrepreneurship or generating new business. Feel free to contact him either by phone or email.

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