Tenant Spotlight: Meet Dr. Robert Chiuri, Global Standards USA

Written by Innovate New Albany@InnovateNA8 years ago

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Dr. Robert Chiuri is the founder and CEO of Global Standards USA, an international firm that provides auditing, inspections, certifications and training for companies in the food service industry.

His company was founded in 2011. In collaboration with other organizations in standards certifications worldwide, Global Standards USA strengthens business strategies that achieve continuous quality improvement to meet customer requirements and regulatory compliance.

How does your service benefit your clients?

We provide very thorough audits and certifications that our clients can present to their suppliers or their customers to show they meet food safety standards and regulatory compliance. We work with our clients to prepare custom training and where necessary, consulting to assist them during the pre-assessment period.

What is your background?

My background is in quality, food safety and business management. I am a certified Lead Auditor for many Food Safety Standards including HACCP, GMP, ISO 9001, FSSC 22000 and SQF among others. I earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration, and an MBA with an entrepreneurship option. I also earned an executive master’s in international business, and a doctorate in business administration from the University of Phoenix, Arizona.

I’ve attended and am certified in food science and industrial technology trainings from the American Institute of Baking. I’ve also done a lot of food safety related trainings and other ISO certified quality management systems.

What made you decide to start your business?

Around 2011, I discovered that since I had done a lot of work for various companies — some of them with a global presence like Coca Cola, Kellogg’s —it might be good to start a part-time quality and food safety auditor business. That’s exactly what I was doing for many companies, so it was a natural shift to continue what I was doing in paid employment and transition to self-employment.

What are you known for? What is your “secret sauce”?

I’m good at auditing, certifying companies and inspecting them. Especially ensuring that I audit with an open mind on customer needs, while also the requirements of regulators, retailers and other industry stakeholders. I try to balance the two competing needs to ensure that I identify issues I’m seeing against what is required.

If you had one piece of advice to give a new business owner, what would it be?

Get into a business that you have a passion for — a business that you really enjoy doing. Because if you don’t enjoy the business, it’s not going to go very far.

How has your business grown and changed since it first started?

We are still growing. We have almost doubled or tripled the number of clients since we first started, but we are still a long way to the target that I have in mind.

How long have you been a tenant at Innovate New Albany?

I’ve been a tenant at Innovate New Albany for almost one year. Although we haven’t utilized the facility very well yet, it has given us a good image of a business that is growing. It’s been good to interact with the other businesses there.

What made you decide to become a tenant at Innovate New Albany?

Innovate New Albany is in our neighborhood. The bulk of my business is run from my home, so it is a really good environment for marketing and meetings with potential clients. We plan on utilizing the facility more in the coming days and months.

What do you love most about working and living in New Albany?

Working in New Albany puts us close to other companies and other businesses that are in a growth mode. It affords us an opportunity to meet potential clients. New Albany is very well positioned, as it is close to many major interstate highways and other commercial and industrial centers.

To learn more about Global Standards USA, visit their website at www.globalsusa.com.

Innovate New Albany, the city’s incubator for technology startups, entrepreneurs and small businesses, features 16,000 square feet of space within the New Albany Business Park’s Signature Office Building, 8000 Walton Parkway.