Industry & Services >> CEO Interviews >> December 9, 2003
LINDA RICHARDSON, the founder of Richardson, is a recognized leader in
the sales training industry. An educational psychologist and consultant,
Linda brings twenty-five years of sales development and training
experience to Richardson. In her role as President and Chief Executive
Officer, Linda is responsible for the development and implementation of
the organization's business strategy and for the design of the
comprehensive Richardson curriculum including the new eLearning. Linda,
a thought leader in the sales training industry, is credited with the
movement to consultative selling, which is the corner stone of
Richardson's methodology. Linda teaches sales and management courses at
the Wharton graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the
Wharton executive Development Center. She is a frequent speaker at
industry and client conferences and has participated in events hosted by
AIG, Chubb, Dean Witter, Goldman Sachs, National Association of Women
Business Owners, Pitney Bowes, and Wharton. With an education,
psychology, and business background, Linda began her career in the sales
training industry in 1979 as a consultant. She was a manager of a global
human resource firm. She has written 9 books on selling including her
most recent works Sales Talk, Stop Telling, Start Selling, and Sales
Coaching -Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach. She
has been published extensively in industry and training journals and has
been featured in numerous publications including Forbes, Nation's
Business, Selling, Selling Power, Success, The Conference Board
Magazine, and The Philadelphia Inquirer. Linda currently serves on the
Mayor's Council for the Arts for the City of Philadelphia and is a
director of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. She served on the
United States Small Business Administration President's Council from
1991-1993. Linda received a Master of Science degree in educational
psychology from Temple University. Profile
DAVID DISTEFANO is the Senior Vice President, Chief Operating Officer,
and Chief Financial Officer of Richardson. David is responsible for and
oversees all legal, contractual, financial and administrative functions,
including human resources, in the organization. David is a key executive
in setting the strategy and direction of Richardson and has been
instrumental in developing the business model for Richardson and in
raising a significant amount of equity capital to enable the Company to
execute its business plan. He also provides senior level guidance to
Richardson's clients regarding all contractual, implementation, and
billing matters pertaining to Richardson's products and services. David
joined Richardson in 1993 from PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he was a
senior manager for over nine years in the financial service practice. At
PwC, David was responsible for the overall engagement and service
management for his clients. At PwC, David assisted and guided a number
of clients in their efforts to aggressively expand their business,
through merger and acquisition, Initial Public Offering, and other
strategic transactions. David is a Certified Public Accountant and
continues to be involved in the activities of the American and
Pennsylvania Institutes of Certified Public Accountants. He has written
and conducted many continuing education programs for accounting
professionals and has lectured at the Wharton School of the University
of Pennsylvania on accounting for entrepreneurial businesses. David
holds a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting Profile
Ms. Richardson: I founded our company 25 years ago and our mission has
always been the same. We support our clients in
