Gina Palko was introduced to the business world as a sales representative in the commercial glass industry, where she gained extensive experience in helping customers at meeting tight deadlines and overcoming logistical problems. Her enthusiasm and customer focus accounted for her prosperity in this male-dominated field.
One of her life-long passions was the field of nutrition, so Gina decided to return to college for a formal education in the subject. Several years later she was an honors graduate and credentialed Registered Dietician from Marywood University, and set to work starting a nutritional counseling practice with a fledgling group of physical therapists in Montgomery NY.
At the same time her husband Andre was enlisting her part-time aid to help with the demands of his growing business. There was lots of addressing envelopes, licking stamps and processing orders at night, at the kitchen table, and in short order it was hard to keep up on a part-time basis. After a lot of conversation and just as much trepidation, Gina decided to give up the nutritional practice and focus on building the new business called Technifold USA. Says Gina, “Yes, I spent many years achieving a goal in a field that I’m passionate about, but I believe not taking a calculated risk in our own small business together would have been a decision we might both have regretted. And I’m happy to say that hindsight has proven us right!”
Gina set the bar high for outstanding customer service, one of the key factors that propelled Technifold USA to the Inc 5000 list of fastest growing private companies in America. She has an uncanny knack for recalling details about thousands of customers and their accounts; in fact it’s common for a customer on an inbound call to think that Gina’s at the computer pulling up account details when in fact she’s away from her desk on a portable phone and recalling details completely from memory!
Gina continues to provide world-class customer service and is using her experience to help push Technifold USA to the next level. The opportunity to use her RD training and education still occurs on a volunteer basis, having taught the nutritional component of a fitness program at a local parish.