REPORT FOR THE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS
UNITED STATES SENATE
SUBJECT: Ambassadorial Nomination: Certificate of Demonstrated Competence — Foreign Service Act, Section 304(a)(4)
POST: U.S. Ambassador of the U.S. to Barbados, the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda, the Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
CANDIDATE: Leandro Rizzuto
Leandro Rizzuto is a highly successful businessman who helped to build his family’s business, Conair, into one of the largest private companies in the United States (1982-2013). Before stepping down from day-to-day engagement in the company, he was Senior Vice President for Professional Global Business Units and had increased sales from $25 million to $300 million and was credited with over 25 U.S. patents. With Conair offices in Asia, Europe, Australia, and Latin America he had extensive international business experience, evaluating and analyzing markets and expanding global operations. He joined and ultimately led the Professional Beauty Association as its Chairman and he was elected as a Director of North American Beauty Events LLC. There too he strategically set new direction resulting in annual profits rising from $150,000 to $2.5 million. His demonstrated leadership in business and management and his considerable success in international marketing make him well-qualified to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Barbados, and the nations of the eastern Caribbean.
Previously, Mr. Rizzuto held positions in Conair in Marketing, New Product Development, and as Vice President of the New Products Consumer Division. He also created and published Style Source Magazine, the leader in beauty industry publications and distributed in six languages internationally. Mr. Rizzuto co-engineered the merger of three industry associations into the Professional Beauty Association earning the respect of his industry peers who repeatedly elected him into leadership roles in the Professional Beauty Association and with North American Beauty Events, LLC.
Mr. Rizzuto attended Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona from 1980-82. He is actively engaged in a wide range of philanthropic activities and was the winner of the UNICO Garibaldi Award in 2011 among various other honors.