Pakula Bakery Inc. -Management

Andy Pakula Ninth Generation of Bakers

When you have dough in your blood you can either become a baker or a businessman; If you're Andy Pakula, perhaps you become both. You can dive into the Internet revolution by starting ORB, a leading Internet company that tracked the effectiveness of on-line advertising. Or, you can play the first role in positioning and selling of Yahoo as an advertising vehicle making it one of the most sought after properties on the Internet. Or maybe, as director of business development for a large ad agency, you can spearhead its new business efforts and direct its growth 400% in just three years. Or, start and build a computerized billboard network for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey at 22 years old. The bottom line...Andy Pakula always knew how to cook, or bake, as it were.

But Andy came from a family of bakers and in his heart he always knew he would return to his baking heritage even after a successful advertising and marketing career.

Andy "grew up" at Pakula's, his grandparent's and parent's bakery located at 108 N. Main Street Spring Valley, New York where it moved in 1962 from Parkchester in The Bronx. There, at an early age, Andy and his sister Denise were put to work making the cake boxes that would later contain the prized baked goods his family made from 1952 to 1982.

Grandpa Max Pakula brought his son Ben into the business and it was Ben who would teach his son Andy all of its fine points. But perhaps Andy's greatest influence was his grandmother Ray, who knew more about marketing than most "B" school graduates did. She "knew" her customers and she knew how to get them to buy more. "Try this! It's good. Do you like it?" As the unsuspecting customer accepted the prize gift, Grandma Ray was ringing up the sale. One little boy knew the way to Grandma Ray's heart...he would sing for a cookie! Of course, his dad had to buy a whole box just to get the kid to stop singing.

Much of what Andy learned about marketing, from pleasing customers to making the sale; he learned from his grandmother Ray. From his father he learned the value of hard work and the importance of taking pride in one's work; the very tools for success that Andy has applied to his own life.