Anthony Bonanzino was born in a lower middle-class Catholic family in West Haven, Connecticut. "My mother was a waitress, working two jobs; there was no, as I call it, 'silver spoon.'" Tony's father worked the graveyard shift at the post office. Anthony was only seven years old when he lost his father.
Tony said his father's death was "nothing unusual, it happens all the time; unfortunately he passed away when he was 44." Tony indicated that he was totally devastated by his father's death, and by his own admission he became incorrigible. He was expelled from a Catholic school in the fourth grade. Tony had gotten into some minor trouble with the law for mischievous behavior.
For young Bonanzino losing a father at age seven was tough. Then his leaving home and going to a Home for Fatherless Boy's was life changing to young Tony.
Tony shared this journey past his personal loss and his success story:
"Fortunately, there was a detective on the West Haven, Connecticut police force, who knew me well enough by that point, because I had gotten into so many minor troubles. He wanted to help; he found a school, a free, private school for fatherless boys, in Philadelphia."
The school for fatherless boys accepted Tony Bonanzino. The Girard School demanded hard work and unquestioned respect for the teachers, and imposed strict discipline. When he arrived at the school Tony described having anger at the world, but he turned his life around in the eighth grade.
The importance of having mentors in his life was especially important to Dr. Tony Bonanzino. Tony gave a specific example of a mentor that changed his life, Mr. Campos. He said that having mentors shortened the learning cycle, helped them to get out of problems and avoid other problems, and in their opinion made them stronger, as well as built them as good leaders.
Tony Bonanzino specifically shared a story about one of his mentors: Mr. Campos, his eighth grade English teacher, who "helped change my life" by bringing about a major paradigm shift in his attitude. At the Girard School, discipline was rigidly enforced. Tony had raised his hand to strike Mr. Campos, but was instead "literally knocked out" by the teacher's solid blow. Upon his waking up, Tony "was sent to the office," where he "was required to explain what I had done." In the school head office Tony "was paddled, and then sent back to the classroom to apologize to my class and to Mr. Campo." His teacher accepted the apology and asked young Tony "to remain after class for a minute." Mr. Campo said to Tony, "You know, you have more to offer than what you are giving right now. Just think about that." Campo became one of Tony's mentors.
Bonanzino then graduated from high school with Honors from the Girard School. He went on to junior college "for a year and played on the ice hockey team," but he was not really focused on his education. Tony said he just "took a year off. I went to Boston University for a period, and then I joined the Air Force." He was trained for a year in Mandarin Chinese and then was assigned for a few months to translate military broadcasts, pilot-to-pilot, and ground-to-pilot communications from Mandarin to English.
As a result of the Vietnam conflict was over and the military was downsizing, Tony was allowed to leave the Air Force early, with full "G.I. Bill" benefits, including educational benefits. "At the time, full benefits meant full benefits." He could focus on his studies. Tony graduated from college with a degree in Biology and a concentration in Microbiology. After working for four years, he returned to get a Master's degree in Operations Management.
Anthony "Tony" then went to work for Bayer AG, the large German pharmaceutical company. He described a "heavily dictatorial" management style. Bonanzino indicated that he was a "pretty unhappy person because the work violated my core values, my beliefs."
Bonanzino was especially deplored what what he perceived to be the company's intentional mistreatment of employees. Tony described his frustration when his attempts to "build the spirit and camaraderie" of his team within Bayer were thwarted by its "intransigent management."
Tony said, "I was in a very challenging environment, not technically challenging, but emotionally challenging, because my core belief was based on respect of the individual." But now he found himself in "an environment that was highly egocentric, debilitating in its treatment of people, and really, a violation of my core beliefs."
Bonanzino then commented, "I prostituted myself." Tony described the challenge of remaining in such "a debilitating, almost evil, environment for so many years, instead of having the courage to walk away." He added that staying was "an extraordinarily difficult thing, and it takes a toll on you. It truly takes a toll."
Tony was sent to Spokane, Washington for what was to be a short term assignment at the Bayer subsidiary, Hollister-Stier Labs, a small pharmaceutical and bio-technology company. The assignment became permanent. But, when Bayer AG announced that it would sell Hollister-Stier Laboratories, Tony then decided to lead a team to negotiate with Bayer for a leveraged buyout of Hollister-Stier Laboratories.
Dealing with Bayer AG's corporate abuse was difficult for Bonanzino. Tony has always fought hard for fair treatment and now he could change that for himself and his fellow employees. He bought out the company form Bayer AG and totally changed the business philosophy of Hollister-Stier to reflect an enlightened and more "servant leader" style.
Dr. Bonanzino became the new President and CEO and immediately restructured the company, totally changing the firm's management style. He indicated that he eliminated everything he perceived as employee abuse and invited input from his employees. In the process he turned an unprofitable subsidiary of Bayer AG into a strong and profitable separate company with its own corporate identity.
Bonanzino earned his Ph.D. in Leadership Studies from Gonzaga University, in Spokane, Washington. He continues to invest a great deal of his time in community projects and various non-profit organizations. He coaches young people in various team sports and still teaches one class each semester at the School of Business at Gonzaga University. He shared that his leveraged buyout of Hollister-Stier Labs is a case study at the Gonzaga School of Business. I initially interviewed Dr. Tony Bonanzino for almost two hours at his home in Spokane, Washington.
Dr. Bonanzino ran his successful firm, Hollister-Stier Laboratories, while serving in a number of leadership posts in the Spokane business community. He has served a both President and Chairman of the Spokane Regional Chamber of Commerce. Tony Bonanzino recently sold Hollister-Stier Laboratories to a major international firm. Dr. Bonanzino is currently the Chief Executive Officer of the Institute for Systems Medicine.
| Howard Edward Haller, Ph.D. The Leadership Success Institute Howard Edward Haller, Ph.D. is the Chief Enlightenment Officer of The Leadership Success Institute and CEO of the Intrapreneurship Institute. His Doctoral dissertation leadership research included personal interviews with prominent US leaders in business, politics & education. Dr. Haller is a successful corporate and non-profit senior executive coach/mentor in both the US & Canada. Dr. Haller is the author of two major published books: "LEADERSHIP AND ADVERSITY: The Shaping of Prominent Leaders" (2008) & "INTRAPRENEURSHIP SUCCESS: A PR1ME Example" (2009), both published by VDM Verlag Dr Müller AG & CoKG. Dr. Haller interviewed 16 prominent leaders who decided to Turn Adversity into Opportunity, including: Dr. Tony Bonanzino, Jack Canfield, William Draper III, Mark Victor Hansen, U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch, Monzer Hourani, U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye, J. Terrence Lanni, Dr. John Malone, Angelo Mozilo, Laurence Pino, Dr. Nido Qubein, U.S. Army Major General Sid Shachnow, Dr. John Sperling, Dr. Blenda Wilson, and Zig Ziglar. The leadership research on LEADERSHIP AND ADVERSITY was peer debriefed, reviewed and concurred with by well-known leadership scholars and best besting authors, including: Dr. Ken Blanchard, Professor Jim Kouzes, Dr. John Kotter, Dr. Paul Stoltz, and Dr. Meg Wheatley. Dr. Howard Edward Haller is the author of "LEADERSHIP AND ADVERSITY: The Shaping of Prominent Leaders" published in November 2008 also by VDM Verlag Dr Müller AG & CoKG, ISBN 978-3-639-09841-9 [Available online at Amazon in US, Canada, UK & Germany] |
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