When George Parente took over as CEO of DTG Consulting Solutions, Inc, he adopted the vision for DTG: “To utilize our (DTG’s) institutional knowledge for the betterment of our clients while finding the best career opportunities for our consultants.”

George Parente is responsible for managing all business operations at DTG. He also manages the financial operations, including all banking and borrowing relations, budgeting and forecasting, financial statement preparation, cost analysis, and tax planning. He is engaged in developing long-term and short-term strategies for the continued success of DTG.

Datacom Technology Group, or DTG, has been in the business of staffing and consulting since 1972. The company was founded by John Di Bari, who served as CEO until October of 2021. John DiBari positioned DTG as a company that would provide resources to some of the largest companies in the world. DTG currently has offices in Saddle Brook, New Jersey, and Framingham, Massachusetts.

In a frank interview with PerceptivX, George talks about his career path, business trajectory, and lessons from life.

PerceptivX (P): Please shed light on your professional background

George Parente (GP): I was hired as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) in April 2000. For over 20 years, I worked side-by-side with the CEO, John DiBari. While working at DTG, I completed all the coursework needed for a Doctorate in Leadership. My studies in Leadership and working closely with the CEO gave me the background needed to run an organization. And In October 2021, I became only the second Chief Executive Officer (CEO) that DTG Consulting Solutions has had in its 50-plus years of operations.

I have over thirty years of experience in the Accounting and Finance field and currently hold an active CPA license in New Jersey and Maryland. I have dual Masters’ degrees in Accounting and Business Administration. In connection with my Doctoral studies, I received a certification in Advanced Graduate Studies in Business Administration. In 2019, I obtained a certification in Negotiation Mastery from Harvard Business School. I am also certified in Business Law, Change Management, Sales Growth Strategies, and Business Contracts from Cornell University.

P: What are the core areas of DTG’s products & services?

GP: Technology changes rapidly, and DTG Consulting Solutions can provide companies with consultants trained in the latest technologies. Hiring DTG Consulting Solutions is more efficient than hiring employees or training your existing staff in the latest technologies. And, as soon as the current technology used in business becomes outdated, you would need to retrain your staff or fire your existing team and hire employees knowledgeable in the latest technology. It is more efficient to have DTG Consulting Solutions do the work for you.

P: How would you best describe your organization?

GP: We are a boutique Staffing and Executive Placement firm. Roughly 90% of our revenue is attributed to our consulting division. We are a full-service staffing firm specializing in placing Information Technology and Finance professionals. The other 10% of our revenue is derived from executive placements. We have an office in Massachusetts specializing in executive placements for the Capital Markets industry. Our Capital Markets division is headed by Len Golod, an industry expert who has been with DTG for over 30 years.

We have placed candidates in technical positions for over five decades. We are a value-added resource for many medium- and large-sized businesses across the globe.

P: Why would a prospective client choose DTG over its competitors?

GP: DTG is committed to connecting growing companies with exceptional talent. We pride ourselves on NOT being like the larger, well-known national staffing and placement firms. Every manager at DTG has devoted their career to the staffing and recruiting industry. And many of the managers here have worked their entire careers exclusively at DTG. We practice extreme diligence when searching for a new member to join the DTG team. We identify the best prospects, hire them, and promote them with the intention that they will work their entire career here. Everyone who works at DTG is set for a career path in this industry.

P: To whom do you attribute your success and work ethic?

GP: Everything I have accomplished is 100% attributable to hard work and the work ethic instilled in me from an early age. Both my parents owned small businesses. My mother, the most selfless person I ever met, had a beauty salon that she sold to stay home and raise my brother, sister, and me. My father owned a bar and restaurant where he worked 16 hours a day, six days a week. He worked long hours to earn the monetary means necessary to provide for his family. Both of my parents instilled a great work ethic in me.

P: Please share your early work experiences and struggles.

GP: I worked at six different companies during the first ten years of my career. I struggled to find a company or a position in a company where I felt I could make a difference. I also saw that companies emphasized profits, and not much focus was on the people responsible for helping the company operate. I was never passionate about my work or the company’s mission. As such, I often did not attach a lot of value to my work or the vision of the companies where I worked.

It was not until I started working in the staffing and recruiting industry as the CFO at DTG that I appreciated how I could be a part of an organization that helped others. From the start of my employment, I immediately recognized that the work the account managers did had an immediate effect on the companies that they serviced. Additionally, the recruiters’ work had an immediate impact on the lives of the consultants they placed on assignments. We often found employment opportunities for US citizens and H1-B Visa holders. By correctly matching the skill set of our consultants with career opportunities at our clients, I saw that everyone benefited.

P: Are you working on any especially exciting upcoming initiatives? What imminent focus areas have you identified for DTG?

GP: Currently, I want to focus on our current business model, which is to provide mid to large-size companies a way of upgrading their IT systems most efficiently and economically. Technology changes at such a rapid pace, that companies continually need to upgrade their IT departments to stay current and competitive in every industry. Rather than hire IT professionals and have to retrain them constantly as technology changes, we offer an easy solution: You hire DTG Consulting Solutions. Our consultants are already trained in the latest technologies, and there is no ramp-up time for starting a project. We could put a team of consultants in place to achieve whatever upgrade is needed. As a project nears completion, fewer of our consultants will be required. We eliminate the burden from the client of having to eliminate workers that are no longer needed. All of the ramp-up and downsizing is left to DTG Consulting Solutions. As projects wind down, we take the consultants that are no longer needed on one assignment and place those consultants in roles in other companies where their skill sets are needed.

P: Please tell us about the trends in the industry, post-Covid.

GP:  The future of staffing and recruiting firms will most likely be a hybrid of remote and on-site office workers. The COVID-19 global pandemic has brought incredible insight into the ability to be productive when working remotely. Not only are we able to recruit while working remotely, but companies that we service that allow for remote IT consultants open up an extensive pool of candidates for every job. Providing IT support for a company located in New York that will allow consultants to work remotely gives us the ability to find consultants from other geographic locations that would not be able to commute to New York. A remote workforce allows for an extensive pool of candidates and allows the recruiters at DTG to get the best talent for our clients. Talent that may not be close to our client’s office.

Whenever applicable, we use Zoom or Teams meetings to meet with remote candidates before presenting them to our clients. We can properly screen all applicants no matter where they are in terms of geographic location. Technology allows for all candidates to be properly vetted no matter where they are located.

P: The key lessons in leadership you’d like to disseminate?

GP: I realized a long time ago that I am the sum of the parts of everything that has ever influenced me. Many times, the people who have influenced me were not in a leadership position. Thus, I realized that I need to remain open-minded in all situations because the next person who may teach me a leadership lesson may be someone who currently reports to me.

From studying human behavior in organizations, I know that employees tune into non-verbal communication in equal terms to verbal communications. I try to project an attitude of professionalism and respect in what I do as much as in what I say. Leadership starts at the top and employees look to  the CEO to set the course of how the business will operate.   

I am a big proponent of the theory of Transformational Leadership. I practice this theory by letting my direct reports run their respective divisions the way they choose. Giving each manager autonomy in their role gives them a sense of ownership over their work. The work becomes more personalized, and every manager becomes more engaged in their career.  

P: Please share your passions outside of work with the readers

GP: The most important thing to me in my life is my family. I love my wife, Diana, more today than the day we married 13 years ago. We have 12-year-old twins, Antonio and Daniela. Antonio plays travel hockey, and Daniela is a contortionist. And both of them excel in school.

I love to practice the guitar when not spending time with my family. I studied classical guitar in my teen years but stopped playing entirely when I started college. However, during the COVID-19 quarantine, I took the opportunity to rediscover my passion for playing classical guitar. I now try to find an hour every day to unwind while practicing some of the classical guitar pieces I learned in my youth.

I also have an unhealthy obsession with working out. I have a small gym set up in my house for the days I cannot workout at the gym by my job in Saddle Brook, New Jersey.

P: What’s the best piece of advice that you didn’t take?

GP: My life has turned out perfect in every way. I love what I do, and I work with the best people in the industry. I adore my family, and we have great times together. My life turned out so much better than I ever imagined it could be. I could not imagine my life being better than it is today. I don’t regret any advice that I didn’t take.