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March 2022 Business Blog
If I had to chose one teacher that had a profound impact on me at The Hall, it would have to be Mr. Stephen Lavezza. He was my English Literature teacher; I was in his home room, and he started the photography club. In all instances, he just made learning fun. His lectures were stuff of legend: dressing up as King Arthur, playing songs like “American Pie” and “Piano Man” to illustrate how to tell a story. He was all about capturing the audience, of making them want to hang on every word. I loved how he could have a conversation with a single student or 300 students, and it was exactly the same…we hung on every last word. He showed me the power of words and conversation and he helped develop my love of capturing an image. Calvert Hall is full of teachers like him and that’s one of the many reasons why it’s such a special place.
After graduating from the Hall, I went on to attend UMBC to study English. I also attended the Radiology Sciences Program at Maryland General Hospital, where upon graduating, I passed my national board exam to become a Registered Radiology Technologist and I spent the first 13 years as a CT and Interventional Radiographer. From there I transitioned to an applications specialist with GE Healthcare and after a few years was recruited by the sales team and became the first Interventional Cardiology Clinical Sales Specialist for the company. I continued in this role until 2018, when I transitioned to a full-sales role as the Interventional Modality Sales Lead for the Rocky Mountain region, covering Colorado, Wyoming, and New Mexico. In 2019, I also added clinical sales support for the Pacific Northwest and Nevada regions.
In 2020 I left GE for Philips and my current role as Product Specialist for Image Guided Therapy Systems in the Chesapeake Region. More simply put, I’m in charge of driving sales, business strategy and increasing market share in Maryland, DC, and Virginia. My product line is interventional imaging systems, which are the large suites used in interventional radiology, cardiac catheterization/electrophysiology labs and vascular/hybrid operating rooms (pictured below).
I recently was awarded Specialist of the Year, given to the top performing specialist in North America in terms of sales volume. I finished the 2021 at 190% to my number, with $47 million in sales and helped increase the region’s market share to 78%. I also won an award for Overall Best Solution Sales, which is awarded based on the number of deals where other Philips’s products and services are bundled together. For 2021, 64% of my deals had bundled solutions attached to them. When the awards were announced, I was completely floored…it was totally unexpected by me. Since I had only been with the company for 15 months, I was pleasantly surprised to have jumped to 1st place from my 6th place standing in November.
As for my personal details, I still live in Middle River with my long-time partner Debbie and our dog, Coco. I enjoy golfing and skiing (when I have the time), photography (arvincastro.com), all things automotive and relaxing with a cigar and a drink while listening to music…simple. Thanks for allowing me to share – Go Hall!
