Renold “Ren” Capocasale opened his mind and his heart to students at the third annual Rocco Abessinio Lecture in Management and Entrepreneurship on October 30.

In an address entitled “Reading the Signs: An Entrepreneur’s Journey,” Capocasale shared the story of his rise to become a wildly successful bio-tech entrepreneur without pulling any punches. He detailed the setbacks he experienced: a cancer diagnosis that made him give up his plan to attend medical school and a 2009 layoff by Johnson & Johnson that caused him to re-examine his career path.

He overcame both hurdles to become the highly successful CEO of FlowMetric, a firm that provides flow cytometry (identifying cells and their components) and cell sorting services to the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries as well as to hospitals and academic institutions.

He peppered his presentation with sage advice that he had learned in his lifetime:

• Numquam cede (Latin for “never give up”).
• Listen to the signs.
• Appreciate the tiny, little victories.
• Ask yourself what brings you great joy?
• A visionary only lies to himself. A liar lies to everyone else.
• Networks really do matter.
• The momentum that you create to get from one point to another is of vital importance.
• Believe in yourself.
• Get others to believe in you.
• Create legitimacy.
• You’ve got to be willing to break things.
• Don’t mistake benevolence for stupidity.

His final message to students in the crowd of 60 people was “I’m an average guy, but I believe anything is possible.”

Capocasale has authored more than 30 peer reviewed scientific manuscripts and publications. He is co-author of one US Patent and has been invited to speak at international conferences. He serves on the university board of trustees.

The first inaugural annual lecture in Management and Entrepreneurship was delivered by Rocco Abessinio himself on October 4, 2016. He and his wife Mary funded the Abessinio Lecture in Management and Entrepreneurship through their family foundation with the intention of bringing to campus each year a recognized professional with expertise in management and entrepreneurship. 

Mr. Abessinio, a 1979 alumnus and longtime friend of Neumann, is chief executive officer of Roch Capital, Inc., a privately owned capital management firm focused on making investments in assets that will be he held for the long term. He is also the founder of Applied Bank and Applied Card System, which grew to be the 10th largest issuer of Visa and MasterCard credit cards in the country.  

In addition to funding an annual lecture, the Abessinio Family Foundation also established the Business Division Visiting Professorship in Management and Entrepreneurship in 2015. This professorship is designed to bring faculty to campus to teach in the proposed Entrepreneurship Minor starting in the fall of 2019.  The Abessinio Family Foundation additionally funds an annual scholarship for a Division of Business student who has exemplified excellence in management and entrepreneurial understanding and application.