Jeno Paulucci

Jeno F. Paulucci (born 1918) is an American businessman and entrepreneur famous for starting over seventy companies during his long career. Paulucci's most well-known ventures include his frozen food company, Michelina's Inc., and food products such as Jeno's Pizza Rolls and the Chun King line of Chinese food. He is also involved in charity work, publishing, and public speaking. A self-described "peddler from the Iron Range," Paulucci is closely associated with northeast Minnesota, where he was born, and known for his candor and colorful public statements.

Biography

Early life

Paulucci was born in 1918 in the mining town of Aurora, Minnesota. Paulucci's parents, Ettore and Michelina, had recently moved from Italy and his father was a miner in one of the region's iron mines. He began his long career in the grocery industry while working for his family's small grocery store during the Great Depression. On February 8, 1947, Paulucci married Lois Mae Trepanier. They have three children together. [Kalo Amundson, " [http://www.michelinas.com/OurStoryArticle_Meet_Jeno.aspx Meet Jeno] ," May 24, 2007.]

Career as Entrepreneur

During the 1940s, Paulucci developed the Chun King line of canned Chinese food products. By 1962, Chun King was bringing in $30 million in annual revenue and accounted for half of all U.S. sales of prepared Chinese food. Chun King was sold to the R. J. Reynolds tobacco company in 1966 for $63 million. In 1985, Paulucci sold his Jeno's Pizza Rolls brand to the Pillsbury Corporation for $135 million. [Matt Finkelstein, " [http://www.inc.com/8over80/2007/8-jeno-paulucci-the-master-chef.html The Master Chef] ," "Inc.com", November 2007.] He later regretted selling the pizza rolls, saying, “I should’ve kept the pizza roll. It’s something that’ll damn near live forever.” [" [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16315018/ At 88, Frozen Food King Still Has Plans Cooking] ," "msnbc.com", December 27, 2006.] In the early 1990s, Paulucci returned to northeast Minnesota to launch Luigino's, Inc., a frozen food company specializing in Italian food such as pasta marketed under the Michelina's brand named after Paulucci's mother. [Ann Meyer, "Jeno's Back in Business", "Prepared Foods", January 1991.]

Business Philosophy

Describing himself as an "incurable entrepreneur," Paulucci has advocated several innovative strategies for building small businesses. [Ann Meyer, "Jeno's Back in Business," "Prepared Foods", January 1991.] From the 1940s to the 1960s, his Chun King company attempted to "cut out the middle man" and "take advantage of waste." Paulucci has not used any personal money for his businesses and instead has relied on public financing provided in exchange for job creation. [Matt Finkelstein, " [http://www.inc.com/8over80/2007/8-jeno-paulucci-the-master-chef.html The Master Chef] ," "Inc.com", November 2007.] Paulucci is also credited with building one of the first national brands of frozen pizzas and taking advantage of the growing acceptance of frozen food as a meal. [Harvard Business School, " [http://www.hbs.edu/leadership/database/leaders/690/ 20th Century Great American Business Leaders: Jeno F. Paulucci] "] As Paulucci told a reporter, “Wherever there’s a microwave, I believe we should have our product.” [" [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16315018/ At 88, Frozen Food King Still Has Plans Cooking] ," "msnbc.com", December 27, 2006.] Unlike many business owners, Paulucci is ardently pro-union and believes that the U.S.'s minimum wage should be increased. [" [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16315018/ At 88, Frozen Food King Still Has Plans Cooking] ," "msnbc.com", December 27, 2006.]

Charity and Philanthropy

In addition to his business success, Paulucci has been involved with numerous charitable causes. He has been a prominent advocate for Italian-American issues. He founded the National Italian American Foundation in the 1970s and served as a presidential emissary to Italy. [Matt Finkelstein, " [http://www.inc.com/8over80/2007/8-jeno-paulucci-the-master-chef.html The Master Chef] ," "Inc.com", November 2007.] The Paulucci Space Theater, a planetarium in Hibbing, Minnesota, is named in honor of Paulucci.

Controversy

Paulucci's long career has not been without controversy. In 1982, Paulucci moved 1200 jobs from the Jeno's Pizza plant in Duluth, Minnesota, to Ohio. Ohio had offered Paulucci publicly-financed low-interest loans. Many accused Paulucci of violating his professed commitment to northeast Minnesota during a time of economic hardships. In response to these criticisms, Paulucci told Minnesota Public Radio, "I'm a businessman, I'm not going to say oh gee, I'm a nice guy." [Mark Zdechlich, " [http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/199605/01_wittl_econwar/ewtranscript1.htm The Economic War Among the States: The Pizza King and the Perils of Bidding] ," transcript of radio interview, "Minnesota Public Radio", April 9, 1996.] Paulucci and his daughter began a legal battle in 2006 over guardianship of his daughter's substantial trust fund. [Neal St. Anthony, " [http://www.startribune.com/business/11092956.html Family feud opens new front in local court] ," "Minneapolis Star Tribune," January 30, 2006.]

Notes

External links

* [http://www.michelinas.com/Index.aspx Michelina's Web Site]