It was a Sunday in spring 2020 when Vera Muzzillo voiced an idea over Zoom. The pandemic was in its early stages. People around the business world were still getting the hang of this Zoom thing, but at a time of crisis and opportunity, Sunday meetings were not uncommon – necessary to navigate uncharted territory.
The CEO of Proforma – PPAI 100’s No. 3 distributor – had been listening to colleagues discuss all the personal protective equipment that was stuck overseas. The company had made the strategic decision to pivot into the PPE space as a means to help the healthcare industry and to maintain profit. But the only solutions being offered were to call an already overwhelmed UPS. That’s when Muzzillo made the sort of suggestion only a leader can pull off.
“Why don’t we just charter planes?” she asked. “We’ll bring them in ourselves.”
Apparently, there were people on that call who thought she was crazy, but, she says, “We owed it to the country and to our distributors to bring them solutions.”
So that’s what Proforma did. The company not only chartered 747s, it used an Antonov – considered the largest aircraft in the world – to bring the products stateside.
This is only a moment in a nearly 25-year career in promotional products, but it serves as an example of Muzzillo’s willingness to step up, make tough decisions and put her name behind a risk she believes in. This, among many other reasons, is why she has been named PPAI’s 2025 Woman of Achievement.
“Vera is one woman in the print and promotional products industry, but her contributions have impacted the lives of many,” says Marissa Jansen, director of brand identity at Proforma, who nominated Muzzillo for the award. “Her efforts have had far-reaching impacts, influencing people and processes, building better relationships and creating stronger communities. Vera has not only raised the bar – she has set a new standard of excellence in the industry.”
Marissa Jansen
Director of Brand Identity, Proforma
‘The Opportunity To Change Lives’
Muzzillo admits that when PPAI reached out to her earlier this year, she didn’t think it had anything to do with an award.
“I said to my son, ‘Oh, I wonder what committee they’re going to want me to join,’” she says.
To be fair, she has always stepped up when the Association has needed her. Muzzillo joined the PPAI Board of Directors in January 2020. Whatever was required from that commitment at the time would change a few short months later when the industry was stopped in its tracks due to COVID-19. Instead of periodic board meetings at industry events or swanky hotels, it was weekly video meetings discussing how the industry could move forward or what PPAI’s members needed from the Association under these conditions.
“What I loved about it is I felt like I was just surrounded by a brain trust of incredibly smart individuals,” Muzzillo says. “And everyone was so committed to always doing the right thing, putting the industry first, caring about all constituents.”
Out of that time came necessary processes that have transcended the pandemic, such as open communication policies and industry education initiatives that allowed members to achieve professional development amid a time when in-person events and trade shows were off-limits.
Five years later, to be recognized by the same Association, is something she doesn’t take for granted.
“It was such a privilege and honor,” Muzzillo says. “I just have the highest level of respect for PPAI and what it means to the industry.”
Muzzillo joins the ranks of accomplished promo veterans whose industry achievements were preceded by careers in another world. In her case, it was commercial and investment banking, a career that allowed her to see companies of all sizes and what they needed to have a fair shot at being successful.
In 2000, she was dating Greg Muzzillo, Proforma’s founder, and they talked business plenty, which typically amounted to Greg asking Vera for advice on this issue or that problem. He suggested she come into the company to get a more formal look at everything. She had experience in business consulting, so the request seemed natural.
“It was really the executives and the board of Proforma who suggested he bring me aboard,” Vera remembers. “They said, ‘Her skillset dovetails with what we need at this organization.’”
The decision to make her CEO has paid off for the company tenfold – technically, it’s paid off more than that.
“Vera’s deep business knowledge and forward-thinking mindset have steered unparalleled growth, guiding Proforma from a $20 million company to a $650 million distributorship,” Jansen says.
For her part, Muzzillo certainly hasn’t looked back.
“As much as I loved banking, there’s nothing greater than this industry, because we have the opportunity to change lives.”
‘That Is A Sacred Trust’
Proforma refers to its sales division as distributor owners. The way the company looks at it, they work for themselves, and Proforma gives them the tools to succeed in a mutually beneficial partnership.
Those “owners” might be attracted to that independence to make more money or have more free time or simply for the feeling of ownership. Muzzillo’s leadership is grounded in the principle that the company owes those distributors the highest possible chance at achieving their goals.
For the past decade, that has been delivered through the deliberate advancement of technology within the company. “The thing I’m most proud of is the technology we’ve built over the past 10 years,” Muzzillo says.
In that time, she hired a team of more than 80 in-house developers to create the proprietary technology behind ProVision and ProStores, which serve as automated workflows and integration between suppliers and shipping carriers, as well as e-commerce solutions.
“These systems not only changed the technology landscape for Proforma but also set a new standard of operations for the print and promotional products industry,” says Jansen.
When all of this began, she told the chief technology officer at the time, Brian Carothers (who now serves as chief information officer), that she would be involved every step of the way. When he questioned her qualifications, she said she’s willing to learn and completely invested. A year later, Carothers admitted to her, “I thought you’d last a month,” assuming most CEOs only want a high-level insight into technology.
But Muzzillo knew she needed to ensure that real possibilities were being created that could benefit distributors.
Vera Muzzillo
CEO, Proforma
“We can draw a straight line from the technology we created to the sales growth of our organizations, their profitability improvement, their free time and their ability to recruit in the industry,” she says.
This sense of responsibility helps explain a person who suggested chartering planes to ship in PPE. Planning is essential to success, but seizing opportunities and understanding the importance they represent is how leaders achieve.
When states were left scrambling to obtain PPE without help from the federal government and her distributors were left unable to sell promo in a halted economy, Muzzillo acted.
“I felt my job as the leader of Proforma was to say, ‘OK, at the end of the day, we are a strong distribution force, and we can use that for good,’” Muzzillo says. “One thing I felt strongly about was not inflating the prices. We had to be good stewards for these healthcare organizations.”
China is 12 hours ahead of Tampa, Florida, where Proforma is based. Working out the logistics of getting the equipment meant that her workday in China started when her workday in the U.S. ended. But the results spoke for themselves. Proforma reported $538.5 million in revenue in 2020, an increase of nearly 8% over 2019, mostly due to the company’s willingness to quickly pivot and adapt.
“We weren’t afraid to invest our money and take a little risk because these distributors who joined, they trusted us,” Muzzillo says. “That is a sacred trust to put your business and your future in our hands.”
Auping is senior news editor at PPAI.
