User:CytuarteLVE/sandbox/Mike Luzio

Mike Luzio

Mike Luzio

Michael P. Luzio (born August 27, 1976) is an American businessman and entrepreneur. As Chief Executive Officer, President, and Co-founder of Industry Retail Group (IRG), a provider of customized managed network services offering a comprehensive portfolio of broadband and broadband-centric services targeted to retailers and other multi-site companies, Luzio was vastly responsible for the company’s growth and success following its inception in 2004. Luzio and his two partners bootstrapped the company with an initial investment of $15,000 to launch IRG; in 2013, they sold the business to Vector Security® for upwards of $50 million. IRG never sought outside capital to grow the business, and while they had numerous opportunities to sell to private equity groups and strategic buyers, they instead chose to thrive on organic growth.

In 1998, Luzio earned his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland, where he is a member of the Omicron Delta Kappa leadership fraternity. It was here he met eventual IRG co-founder, Joe Manzari—along with his future wife, Danielle. In 2017, Luzio was named a member of the Board of Trustees at the University of Maryland, one of the youngest alumni every appointed the position.

Luzio began his managed services career at Network Access Solutions (NAS) in Northern Virginia, where he received numerous awards for sales and leadership, rapidly rising through the executive ranks. With sales performance numbers consistently at the top each year, Luzio helped to make NAS a premier name in managed broadband services. In 2002, Sprint Corporation recruited Luzio to New York City, where his sales record excelled as the youngest member of the Global Acquisitions group focused exclusively on the Fortune 500 vertical market. In 2004, along with Manzari and third co-founder Gabriel Martinez, Luzio left Sprint to launch IRG.

Following the conclusion of his contract at IRG under Vector Security ownership in August 2016, Luzio began to focus his entrepreneurial sights on building a personal brand and new business centered around consulting and advising on high-performance business and sales endeavors. The resulting entity, The LVE Group, offers various channels through which Luzio and his team can advise, empower, and assist future entrepreneurs, current business owners, and companies large and small, in order to help them grow and thrive.

Luzio’s well-known dynamic personality plays a major role in his leadership style in the business world as well as the effectiveness of his new LVE brand. He also remains involved in numerous charitable organizations, which represent the cornerstone of his character.

Early Life and Education

Born in Columbus, Ohio to parents Beth and Patrick, Luzio is the youngest of three—brother, Matthew, and sister, Catherine. His father, who worked in law enforcement, and his mother, an educator, moved the family early in Luzio’s childhood to West Virginia, where they lived for five years before eventually settling in suburban central New Jersey in 1983.

Luzio attended Matawan Regional High School in New Jersey. He excelled academically as well as on the football field, where in 1994 he was named an All-County and All-State performer and was captain of a team that won two New Jersey State Championships. It was at Matawan Regional High School that Luzio also found a passion for theater and acting.

In the Fall of 1994, Luzio enrolled at the University of Maryland. While athletics was a cornerstone of his youth, he instead chose to focus on academics and joined the Sigma Chi fraternity, where he would be elected president of both his pledge class (1995) and the chapter (1998). Luzio became a member of the prestigious Omicron Delta Kappa leadership fraternity on campus, and as an alumni he is currently a member of the Board of Trustees at the University of Maryland. He also donates to the university’s student fund and the Fraternity and Sorority Greek Community, and is active in fundraising and alumni support for the Sigma Chi national fraternity. In May 2018, Luzio received the Significant Sig award from the national chapter. In November 2013, Luzio and his wife, Danielle, established an endowed fund to support fraternity and sorority leadership development programs in the Department of Fraternity & Sorority Life at the University of Maryland.

Career

Enterprise Rental Car

While still in school at the University of Maryland, Luzio worked as a summer intern in 1992 and 1993 for Enterprise Rent-A-Car®, where he led the entire Washington, D.C. region in selling damage waivers on rented vehicles. This was an early insight into his abilities and tenacity as a salesperson.

Ricoh

After graduating from the University of Maryland in 1998 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science, Luzio briefly entertained a move to Hollywood to pursue acting. But in a meeting several months prior, future Five Guys COO Sam Chamberlain had suggested Luzio hone his sales skills by “selling photocopiers” before jumping into a large sales role. That summer, Luzio accepted a position with Ricoh in Alexandria, Virginia—selling photocopiers.

Network Access Solutions

From 1999 to 2002, Luzio was a national account manager for Network Access Solutions (NAS) in Herndon, Virginia, selling data communications products and providing related services for corporate networks. At NAS, he gained not only his first sales experience in the communications technologies industry, but also valuable firsthand insight into corporate management styles and practices—much of which would come into play when IRG launched in 2004.

Sprint Corporation

In 2002, Luzio was recruited to become Global Acquisitions Manager at telecom giant Sprint in New York City. Despite his wide-scale success in the role and its foundation for a lucrative future with a global communications company, after two years Luzio decided to forgo the “sure thing” and follow his entrepreneurial aspirations by starting his own company.

IRG

In 2004, along with co-founders Joe Manzari and Gabriel Martinez, Luzio formed Industry Retail Group (IRG). Behind Luzio’s aggressive leadership style, IRG grew rapidly, survived the 2008 market crash, and eventually flourished to become a multimillion-dollar company servicing major national clients.

On August 15, 2013, Vector Security purchased IRG for approximately $50 million. Following the purchase, Luzio sat on the board of Vector Intelligent Solutions as President. On August 15, 2016, his three-year term officially over, Luzio moved on to new projects, the first being The LVE Group.

The LVE Group

After selling IRG, Luzio spent time much of 2017 sitting down with successful entrepreneurs and business owners on camera to create a web series called 52 American Success Stories, wherein each week Luzio posted video of the interview with his most recent subject. That experience directly inspired the founding of his new business venture, The LVE Group.

The “LVE” in this case stands for “Luzio vs Everybody.” The LVE Group is designed to enable success at any point along the life cycle of a business. And to do so, the company offers four unique services as the core of its business:

Investment Funds and Human Capital

Though Luzio and his partners bootstrapped his former company at IRG, he realized entrepreneurs often need a hand when it comes to getting a great business idea off the ground. So the LVE Group actively invests in start-up companies in exchange for equity stakes, as well as provide bridge capital for growing companies poised to take the next leap. And the firsthand experience and success of its founder in building a business allows for expert insight, consulting, and mentorship opportunities along the way.

Agent Consulting

Building a business is all about relationships. In his time as CEO of IRG, Luzio created a vast network of C-level executives at hundreds of national corporations, retailers, and service providers that he can activate in the best interests of agency partners and clients at the LVE Group. The strength of Luzio’s relationships can help expand and improve options for growing businesses.

Branded Storytelling and Content Marketing

The LVE Group’s creative arm can help develop an engaging story around a brand and coach ownership on how to tell that story across the digital platforms best suited for their audience.

Exit Consulting

One of the most critical decisions any business owner makes is when and how to exit. Having successfully navigated this process himself with a great exit, Luzio and The LVE Group can walk clients step-by-step through the timeline of selling a company, maximizing EBIDA, and getting the most value for at sale. For most business owners, this is the end-goal, and The LVE Group get them across the finish line.

NJBIA

In 2017, the New Jersey Business and Industry Association (NJBIA) took notice of Luzio’s web series, 52 American Success Stories, and his outsized personality and passion for local businesses in his home state of New Jersey, and fostered a strategic partnership between NJBIA and The LVE Group. Luzio became the face of a new marketing campaign, NJBIA Big Shot, wherein association members vied for cash and consultation services from Luzio and other member businesses in hopes of boosting their own company’s success. The Big Shot campaign included a video marketing component starring Luzio, as well as the cover and a feature article in New Jersey Business Magazine.

Personal Life

Luzio lives in central New Jersey and on the Jersey shore with his family. He is passionate about dominant sports figures and closely follows players like LeBron James and Michael Phelps throughout their careers, paralleling their athletic achievements to those of great businesspeople. At his leisure, Luzio enjoys fitness, films, music, and fine bourbon whiskies.

External links

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