Getting to Know Rich Cavagnaro

Behind the scenes of every great company is a team of hard-working individuals who are dedicated to their jobs. AdEdge is no exception. With a staff committed to providing clean, safe water to their customers, AdEdge would like to give you a glimpse into our employees. Find out what they do, what they love about AdEdge and how they spend their time off the clock.

To kick off the Q&As, we thought we’d start with our award-winning fearless leader. Rich Cavagnaro, president of AdEdge, was recently named the Metro Atlanta Chamber Business Person of the Year in the Experienced Entrepreneur category. Each year, the Metro Atlanta Chamber and the Atlanta Business Chronicle honor outstanding business professionals from around metro Atlanta. With more than 25 years of international business experience, Rich works every day to help the company and its employees meet their goals.

  

Name:

Rich Cavagnaro

What is your job title?

President.

How long have you been with AdEdge?

Since the beginning. In the summer of 2002, Greg Gilles and I, along with two other individuals, joined together to start the company.

Describe your typical workday.

First of all, there is no typical day! In the first part of the day I like to think about my plan for the day, have brief discussions of five minutes or less with several staff members to understand some of their pressing issues and then create a “get-done” list. After that I like to start tackling the list, recognizing which items are priorities. On most days I enjoy walking around and asking staff at all levels what they are working on and what challenges they face.

A big portion of my time is spent understanding how well we are executing toward our company goals. Many members of our staff have their nose to the grindstone, so I try to keep my head up and see where we are heading in the next 30 days, three months and the next 12 months. I have tremendous faith in my management team and try not be redundant or a roadblock to their execution, but I do spend a portion of my day reviewing the dashboard of key financial metrics.

What is your favorite part about working for AdEdge?

Seeing the growth of the company is very gratifying of course, but seeing the growth of our people is truly a rewarding experience. But most of all I try to remind our team the importance of our company’s core value for a passion for clean water. When we get testimonials from our customers that we have done a great job and really have improved their situation, that is my favorite part about working at AdEdge.

What is the most rewarding project you’ve worked on?

Our project in San Antonio de los Cobres, Argentina for a community of 6,000 people that had arsenic levels approaching 300 parts per billion (ppb). That we were able to reduce that level to acceptable levels of less than 10 ppb is a signature achievement for AdEdge. This project was done in tandem with a Christian charity, and we subsequently created our own charity called Helping Hands for Water to further assist the project.

A documentary was filmed during the course of the project, which lasted several years. The documentary, titled “Troubled Waters,” premiered this past year and at the conclusion of the film the joy of a passion for clean water is ever present, as the last comment states: “The life expectancy of the people in San Antonio de los Cobres is expected to double.”

Favorite weekend activity:

Spending time with friends and/or family and trying to stir a little controversy.

Something your coworkers would be surprised to learn about you:

As a freshman in high school, I pole-vaulted 9-feet 6-inches—a record that stood for many years!