User:Rickschoc

I have more than fifty years of extensive marketing and product development experience ranging from computers and telecommunications to foodservice and retail. When Chocolates à la Carte was founded by my wife, Rena in 1986, I was instrumental in the initial development of the company's marketing strategy and created a strategic database that is used as a case study on niche marketing in an MBA course. I was appointed as CEO of Chocolates à la Carte in 1989. Before Chocolates à la Carte, I was the principal and managing partner of my own executive search firm, Pocrass Associates. Pocrass Associates,founded in 1975 as Health Technology, Inc., which provided systems consulting for computerized fraud and abuse systems. In 1977, it became an executive search firm to specialize in recruiting the first field sales and marketing positions for many high technology start-up companies. Many of our early engagements were instrumental in the recruitment for clients that pioneered the network backbone of Internet and electronic banking systems.

I have been a member of the Los Angeles Rotary Club for almost 30 years. I am on the Board of Directors of Los Angeles Mission College Foundation, Providence Holy Cross Medical Center Foundation, and Advisory Board of Careers through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP).