Deborah Belfiore

C&S Wholesale Grocers
Fresh Meat Director

Years with company: 13 years.

Education degrees and professional/volunteer organizations: BS UMass; Business Administration and Management.

Mentors and how have they assisted you in your career: Throughout my career, I have worked with many individuals all with different management styles and skills. I feel that I’ve learned something from each of them. Some have taught me what not to do; however, overall I’ve worked with many knowledgeable and positive people that understand the unique fresh meat industry that I’ve been part of for many years.

What are you most proud of in your career achievements? Do you have a defining moment of your career to date:

I am most proud working for a company like C&S. Being the meat director for a company the size of C&S is more of an achievement than I’ve ever thought possible when I began my career in this industry.

Most challenging part of your job: The most challenging part of my job is also what I enjoy the most. I have a fascination with working in the fast paced, ever changing conditions of the commodity markets.

Advice for upcoming younger executives: Staying focused and working hard isn’t what it’s all about. It’s finding something that you are passionate about and not being able to put it aside until you get it right is what I find to be the key. Taking something you genuinely enjoy and obtain a feeling that you’ve achieved what you’ve set out to do, is the best advice I can give anyone starting out.

Hobbies: Cooking , winter sports, music and enjoying a good book.