Richard Diforio, Founder and Principal

Richard brings a broad range of expertise in product definition and launch, business operations, general management, strategy consulting and business development.

Before co-founding Gorge Holdings, Richard co-founded Pacific Northwest Capital, LLC (PNC) which focused on acquiring small light manufacturing companies and real estate transactions. PNC successfully acquired and exited Taylor Metal Products, Inc., a building products manufacturer for which PNC saw triple digit returns.

Prior to PNC, Richard served as Vice President at About, Inc., then a division of Primedia and a top ten Web property. He managed a diverse set of resources whose core responsibilities included the positioning of the About.com offering and the definition/integration of new revenue streams. Prior to About, Richard was on the executive management team of Northsky.com, a web services start-up that was acquired by About.com.

Richard worked on and led a number of business strategy, process design, product development, and environmental consulting projects as an employee for the Novations Group and Environmental Resources Management, Inc.

In his early career, Richard was franchise advisor and sole proprietor of an exterior house painting firm.

Richard has a MBA, with honors, from the Fuqua School of Business, Duke University; a Masters of Environmental Management from The Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University; and a BA in Economics from Trinity College, Hartford, CT.

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