BUSINESS PROFILE: Classy Consultant

Public Record, The, Jul 16, 2002 by Apfelbaum, Sharon

Bill Cuff heads Maryanov Madsen Gordon and Campbell's Management Advisory Services division. The Ivy Leagueeducated principal at MMGC holds an economics degree from Yale and a marketing MBA from Columbia. He Stamford, Connecticut, where grew up in his father owned a stationery store in Old Greenwich and had the distinction of being the longest-standing fireman in an all-volunteer department.

Cuff served as president and CEO of GreatFood.com, an online gourmet food retailer in Seattle. In partnership with the founder of this startup, Cuff grew annual sales to $3 million and hired a staff of 70. He sold the company to 1-800Flowers for $18.5 million in cash.

Earlier he served as president/ CEO of DIAMOND, a nutprocessing cooperative in Stockton. The Pillsbury Company named him its 1994 Supplier of the Year from among 1,000 suppliers. Working for Nestle, the specialty foods business grew from a $1 million loss to $2 million profit within two years.

Besides his hands-on knowledge of business, Cuff arranges seminars detailing a strategy of how to beat the competition. His seminars include myriad opportunities to learn quality management, setting up cost effective programs, organizational and succession planning, employee attractionretention, sales force development and leadership programs.

"Real leadership not only directs but inspires. It means getting other people to do what you want them to do because they want to do it," says Cuff.

Cuff and his East Coast-born Irish wife Erin, a former teacher, have settled in Del Webb. At age 60, Cuff is a daily swimmer and says the elder-friendly Del Webb boasts the desert's best indoor pool. With five children and an equal number of grandchildren living in nearby coastal communities, the Cuffs attract plenty of houseguests.