Our People

RICARDO ALBU, President

Dick's career spans thirty years of corporate and consulting experience focused in growth strategy planning and implementation. Dick founded Albu Consulting in 1994, a business development firm that assists companies in choosing, planning and taking action on strategic initiatives that lead to the achievement of their growth goals. Prior to forming Albu Consulting, Dick worked seven years as Vice President with a New York City based international business development consulting group where he gained valuable experience across a broad range of industries. During his sixteen years at Nestlé, the world's largest food and beverage company, Dick held senior management positions both in the US and Switzerland, Nestlés worldwide headquarters. He was responsible for the creation and implementation of growth plans for Nestlé products in the US and internationally. Dick's clients benefit from his domestic and international corporate background, coupled with his diverse consulting experiences working for both middle market and large multinational companies. His principle skill is the ability to help companies define and choose business growth opportunities, and then harness the internal and external resources necessary to achieve profitable growth.

DAVID RUDOFSKY, Senior Consultant

David is a senior consultant of Albu Consulting, Inc. whose strength is in helping businesses solve financial and strategic issues. His prior industrial experience includes 20+ years in finance, strategic planning and consulting, at the corporate, divisional and factory level with Kraft Foods and Altria (formerly known as Philip Morris). He was Director of Strategic Planning for Altria, providing senior management perspectives to strategic issues, including acquisition, divestitures, joint ventures, dividend policy and share repurchase strategy. Previously, he was Cost Manager for Kraft’s largest manufacturing plant and Finance Manager playing an instrumental role in turning around the Jell-O Pudding Snacks line.

David Rudofsky earned his MBA in Finance and Accounting at Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, one of the top business schools in the country, and did his undergraduate studies at Brown University in applied mathematics, graduating Magna Cum Laude. He is a correspondence chess master, once ranked 40th in the United States, and brings that same level of creativity, strategy and analysis to identifying and implementing fresh solutions to his clients’ business problems.

RODNEY LEWIS, Senior Consultant

Rod has over twenty-five years of corporate and consulting experience in marketing and sales management in the consumer product industry. Rod has extensive experience helping companies in a broad range of marketing and sales disciplines including new product development, market research, packaging design, product positioning, pricing, promotional planning, geographic expansion, public relations and advertising. He has a successful track record of achieving profitable growth with The Nestle Company, Pollio Dairy Corporation, SlimFast Foods, Kushi Natural Products and Hartz pet supplies. Rod successfully introduced Polly-O String Cheese, the company's fastest growing new product. He developed a range of new snack lines for Slim-Fast, successfully launched 30 new items for Kushi Natural Products, and re-staged Hartz rawhide line increasing sales by 20%. At Polly-O and Kushi, Rod held the position of Vice President of Sales & Marketing where he directed both the internal salesforce and the broker network nationally, and he has a working knowledge of both direct store-door delivery systems and direct to warehouse sales.

ROBERT BURKE, Senior Consultant

Bob has over twenty years experience in corporate and consulting experience in marketing and sales management in the food industry. His specific expertise is in the health and natural foods industry, where Bob is a well known specialist with a broad and current network of senior level contacts. Prior to his consulting career, Bob held senior management positions with Stonyfield Farm Yogurt, Colombo, Inc. and Sperry Top-Sider. Bob has worked with a number of companies in the Natural Foods segment including Stonyfield Farm Yogurt, Annie's Homegrown, Oregon Chai, OCP Chocolate, as well as Kellogg's, General Mills and ConAgra. He is active in the Northeast Fresh Foods Association and co-founded the "GENA" group, an association comprised of 13 leading New England and New York based natural products companies.