Nunzio Bruno

Owner/Business Strategist, Disruptive Strategy Co.; Age 31

Nunzio Bruno says there are more similarities between his career and one of his newer passions — power lifting — than most people think.

“I started taking it seriously, honoring my own goals, putting money down on equipment and meets … essentially, showing up,” he said, noting that his first power-lifting meet was just a few weeks ago. “I realized, as I started to see changes as I progressed, that it’s like a metaphor for what I ask people to do every day.”

Bruno owns the Disruptive Strategy Co., a business-strategy firm based in West Springfield that works with companies of all sizes to improve their output, organizational structures, and, ultimately, their bottom lines.

“I work with staff to identify resources, offer communication coaching, develop business plans … it’s always a little different, but the idea is that all companies have challenges and don’t always have the capacity or capabilities to address them. Someone like me is brought in to dive into the research, get into the nitty-gritty, and create a plan for improvement, plus the documentation to show how it will play out.”

Since his company’s inception in 2009, Bruno has seen success with a wide breadth of clients, from an indie soap maker he helped introduce to Whole Foods, which now carries the line, to a Fortune 500 firm. He’s begun to develop his own curriculum of sorts for companies — the Disruptive Decision Framework — to assist them in identifying specific weak spots across their organizations and make decisions about next steps.

“I’m asking organizations to buy into a big process, and the curriculum helps us to build frameworks, do a bit of planning, and create a system to move everything forward,” he explained.

Bruno also teaches economics, finance, and strategy as an adjunct faculty member at Elms College, Bay Path University, Springfield College, and American International College, and speaks frequently on related topics. Both roles have allowed him to stay abreast of subtle changes in the corporate marketplace, including a shift he sees toward redefining success.

“Whatever the goal, we need to take the outcomes seriously, and honor a system,” he said.

That brought Bruno back to his new discoveries in the world of amateur power lifting, and those parallels he sees between his work and his weights.

“When I’m lifting, if I don’t feel right, the feedback is real. Something is off, and I can’t justify it away,” he said. “I work to get people to see their businesses the same way — if there’s a problem, it needs a fix. Be pumped to do it, and follow through.”

— Jaclyn Stevenson

Photography by Leah Martin Photography