Rich Witaszak
Senior Advisor
- Outsource Accounting Services
- M&A Advising and Support
- Managing Growth and Turnarounds
- Project Management / Profitability Improvement
Rich is a strategic and innovative executive with 12 years of CEO and 17 years of CFO experience. Most recently, as Vice President/General Manager of Staples Promotional Products, Rich was the Chief Executive responsible for leading this $500 million global division of Staples through significant change and record levels of sales and profits within the promotional products industry. Prior to that, he served as CFO of predecessor company, American Identity, where he led a successful turnaround and managed the sales and transition of the company to Staples.
Over his 30+ year career, Rich has served in a number of Financial leadership roles responsible for managing teams of all skill sets. He has participated in multiple acquisitions and worked for both public and private companies. He has led companies through ownership changes and managed in turnaround to high-growth environments. His experience includes positions in the B2B, Manufacturing, Retail and Service industries, with prior senior financial roles at Payless Cashways, Fred’s, AE Clevite and PriceWaterhouseCoopers. He has also held ownership interests in several small businesses involved in various service industries and currently serves as a mentor and/or board advisor to several Kansas City based businesses.
Rich holds a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Wayne State University, where he also completed much of his MBA. He completed the Executive Leadership Program at Harvard Business School and has been a Certified Public Accountant since 1985. He is also a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor.
Rich understands how businesses operate and can help you achieve your company’s business objectives through the establishment of a solid financial structure, plan for profitable growth and implementation of performance feedback to measure execution results.