Executive Suite: Ralph Bianculli

Ralph Bianculli can be called a pioneer in the green movement, having launched his business 14 years ago with an eye to creating "alternative, sustainable" products.

"I always felt recycled paper was not the only solution," says Bianculli, 51. So after years of research, his company, Syosset-based Paradigm Group, has been rolling out a new line of paper products -- tissues, napkins, industrial-size towels -- made not from trees, but from sugarcane pulp. "We're at a point in the company curve to now go to market full-scale" he added.

Bianculli got his start in business right out of college when he was hired to oversee the food and beverage operations of Aqueduct, Saratoga and Belmont Park racetracks. In short order, he says, he found himself in his early 20s managing about 400 employees "on average, twice my age." He recalls being given the office keys and told, "You're a New York guy. You can run this place."

Are there advantages to being a pioneer?
"The buzz is very strong today, but the challenges still exist, like with any new product you bring to market. You have to change the thinking of the consumer . . . convince the consumer the quality is as good as a non-green product and that the price is as competitive or less."

How are you planning to get that word out?
"We are interviewing individuals and agencies," sales people and are "looking for an Internet marketing person to head up our Web page. Also, along the way we'll be looking for product development people. For the coming year we're budgeting for 15 new hires."

What prepared you to run a company?
That early food and beverage job. "I remember going in at 6 in the morning and leaving at 9 at night. I was diligent enough and competitive enough to say I was going to learn this job and to manage 400 people at that age. It was an incredible learning experience. I learned on the fly."

What's one fundamental for managing people?
"You have to listen -- and I mean listen, not make believe you're listening. You have to hear about family problems. You have to listen to two sides of a story." That way, "when I made a determination, whatever the decision, [employees] respected it."

What do you do to put balance in your life?
"People ask me, 'What's your hobby?' and I say, 'Which one? I have four.' I keep the four of them [breeding thoroughbred racehorses, riding Harley Davidsons, gardening and golfing] distinct. I'm not good at any one of them."

If there were a fire alarm, what in your office would you grab first?
"The photo of Secretariat winning the Belmont Stakes . . . by 31 lengths."

Corporate snapshot

Name. Ralph Bianculli, president and chief executive of Paradigm Group, a Syosset-based producer/distributor of environmentally friendly cleaning agents, including its own Emerald Brand of "tree-free" disposable paper products

What it does. Of the company's paper products, "We like to say: Making responsible choices possible."

Employees. 45 full-time, 10 part-time, in roles such as product development, marketing, sales, packaging design, operations

Revenue. More than $10 million this year in Emerald Brand products