People

HOW TO BE THE BEST (IN BUSINESS)

Donald V. Almeida, GABELLI ’73
Fordham University Trustee, Gabelli School Advisory Board Member and Adjunct Professor, and Retired Global Vice Chair of PwC Publishes Book on How to Achieve Success in Business and in Life
Front book cover of How To Be The Best (In Business): Insights from my 40-year career (as well as before and after). by Donald V. Almeida
“Success isn’t just about the finish line; it’s about the hustle, the people you meet, and the person you become along the way.’“
Drawing from a lifetime of experience—from delivering newspapers and driving a cab to working his way up to the leadership position of global vice chair at PricewaterhouseCoopers—Donald V. Almeida, GABELLI ’73, delivers sage advice that applies to one’s professional career and to life in general in his new book, How to Be the Best (In Business): Insights from my 40-Year Career (as well as before and after).

“It’s a bit of my life story mixed with some straight-up advice on how to make it in the business world,” Almeida states in the book’s introduction. “It began with me jotting down some notes about my life, thinking it was just for my own reflection to look back on the good and the bad. But then it hit me—some of the stuff I’ve learned the hard way might just help someone else skip a few bumps in the road.”

Raised in Yonkers, Almeida attended Cardinal Hayes High School and Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business where he earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting. He credits the basic values he learned in school and at home for setting the foundations for his life and career.

Throughout the book, personal values like honesty and integrity are among the topics Almeida emphasizes as key attributes for success in business. “Dealing honestly with people 100% of the time is critical to success,” he said. “Your word must be your bond. To gain trust is difficult; to lose it takes a nanosecond and once lost, it can never truly be regained. Honesty and integrity are the foundations of business.”

He also underscores the power of having an opinion as well as the ability to make decisions. “In business, you are very often paid to make decisions,” Almeida said. “If you are in certain professions—surgeons, air traffic controllers, pilots, battlefield commanders, to name a few—you make decisions minute-by-minute or even second-by-second.”

Portrait headshot close-up photo of Donald V. Almeida grinning in a black business blazer suit and white button-up dress shirt underneath equipped with a pink tie
– Don Almeida, Retired Global Vice Chair, PwC
Throughout his publishing journey, Almeida consulted with Mary Bly, chair of Fordham’s English department and a bestselling author, and editor Braden Mayer, FCRH ’20. Several of Almeida’s Fordham colleagues and friends enthusiastically endorse his work, including Donna Rapaccioli, Ph.D., dean emerita of the Gabelli School.

“In his new book, How to Be the Best (In Business), Don Almeida provides both high-level advice and actionable tactics that will help individuals advance at any stage of their career,” she stated. “His candid storytelling approach to leadership concepts immerses the reader in real-world examples that can be applied to a myriad of industries and situations. What Don labels ‘Almeida Points’ are particularly helpful and informative to anyone who wants to improve their performance.”

Penning his book has been a reflective journey for Almeida, who is glad to share the nuggets of wisdom he’s accrued along the way with new generations of business professionals.

“It’s about finding your groove in business and figuring out how to keep evolving, no matter what life throws at you,” he said. “Success isn’t just about the finish line; it’s about the hustle, the people you meet, and the person you become along the way.”

—Claire Curry