An extraordinary soul found his way home this week. He didn't believe in heaven, so he was pleasantly surprised to discover that life is a dream! I know you are with me always, even now. I love you, Dad. You did a great job with the life script I gave you! Despite the challenging role you agreed to play, you deserve an Academy Award-winning prize. Thanks for being my most outstanding teacher and forcing me to rise, rise up, rise up, and pull my big-girl pants up until I remembered who I was. There is nothing left to forgive. Thanks for helping me learn about forgiveness and making lemonade out of lemons. Thanks for driving me to dance classes every Saturday when I was little and telling the most wondrous stories and jokes!

Dr. Joseph Ralph Mancuso 5/6/1941 – 10/16/2024

Joe Mancuso was a leader, scholar, storyteller, family man, and an inspiration to thousands of entrepreneurs globally. He grew up in Hartford, CT, with his two siblings, his mother and father, Helen and Anthony Mancuso. He was the first kid on the block with a lemonade stand and a newspaper delivery job. His mother taught him how to find rare coins from these little jobs, which brought this brilliant child from rags to riches. His mother always told him he was a lucky boy, and that’s what he became. He mastered the art of winning.

He earned a BS from WPI, an MBA from Harvard Business School, and a doctorate from Boston University. His nickname in college was “Empresario” (the Spanish word for entrepreneur). Before becoming a WPI professor, Joe earned his tuition by holding concerts in Worcester, Springfield, MA, and Hartford, CT, for big-name musicians such as Chubby Checkers, Peter, Paul & Mary, the Kingston Trio, and Johnny Mathis. He never had a traditional 9-5 job and chose to work as an independent consultant for over 500 companies. He wrote columns in esteemed trade magazines to cheer other aspiring entrepreneurs to win. Joe popularized T-shirts with the slogan, “READY FIRE AIM.” Later, he devised another T-shirt that said, "I am their Leader" on the front, while the back asked, "Where have they gone?"

Joe authored thirty books, including his bestseller, How to Write a Winning Business Plan on Amazon and Ali Baba, and his latest, CEO Smiles. His first book was No Guts, No Glory, and one of his favorites was Winning with the Power of Persuasion. His books are also written in Chinese because the last chapter of his life was spent collaborating and connecting American CEOs with Chinese CEOs. He was the entrepreneur's entrepreneur.

He loved to think, strategize, learn, and read. Among his favorite books were Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, Believe and Achieve by Clement Stone (A CEO CLUB speaker at age 85), and Dale Carnegies’ How to Win Friends and Influence People. All his children fondly remember the game Joe played with them during long car rides or at restaurants called Win-a-Buck. It was a game he developed to teach his children some of the most basic facts of life, like the capitols of every state, the order of our American presidents, and how fast the speed of light is. His gift of story-telling hypnotized and captivated his children, especially his famous bedtime story of Sister Sue and Fat Lou.

He founded the largest non-profit association of CEOs at Ceoclubs.org and Ceoclubsworldwide.com. There are still active chapters in the USA, China, Greece, and a half-dozen other countries. He has traveled to China about thirty times and often brought his family members with him. His mid-market CEO associations have thousands of members in the USA and an equal number abroad.

Joe popularized the saying, "making money and having fun while you are learning." He believed the most effective learning method, using a traditional classroom and blackboard, worked best within a group of peers who shared ideas. Joe was a community builder, bridging businesses and CEOs globally from the West to the East and East to the West. He called these groups Presential Advisory Councils or PACS. He and his wife traveled worldwide, sharing ideas with a talented, diverse group of about twenty members who later became best friends and colleagues.

Every August, he sponsored three-day courses for CEOs at the Ritz Carlton in Laguna Beach, CA, for about thirty years. His daughter Karyn, from his first marriage, usually attended these programs as his sidekick. They traveled well together. She helped sell his books in the back of conference rooms. Sometimes, he would bring his mother, son, and Aunt Angel along because his mode of operation was “the more the merrier!” The only caveat was they each had to introduce themselves by telling a joke over the microphone to the CEO PAK members.

Joe and his second wife Karla, a true soulmate, enjoyed many car rides along ocean-side Highway 1 and loved staying at the beautiful inns around Big Sur, especially the Ventana Inn. Some of their favorite memories were soaking in the hot springs of the Redwood Forest and frolicking at the Beach of Oneness, where the Jonathon Livingston Seagull book was based. Joe grew to love living in New City and often strolled through Central Park, attended many comedy shows, and enjoyed exceptional Italian restaurants like “La Mela.” He also couldn’t turn down an excellent NYC Chinese restaurant and had a weakness for sweets, especially apple pie.

Joe leaves behind his loving wife, Karla; his children, Karyn, Amy, Lisa, Max, and May; his brother, John, and sister, Lee; and many beloved grandchildren. Joe had a profound and heartwarming bond with his dog “Sister Sue” and his dear friend Oliver, who was like a son to him in his later years.