Clients Say

Non-Profit Consulting

“Without hesitation, I write to recommend John Icardi as one of the finest business development consultants with whom I have had the pleasure to work. I have know John over ten years and worked with him in several different capacities.

I first hired John as Vice President of Sales for C.L. McIntosh, a leading medical device contract research organization. He established the firm's first sales division and developed strategic plans and sales and marketing strategies for our market. He led plan execution resulting in a doubling of sales and the establishment of a profitable clinical research business in 24 months. He also demonstrated the ability to forge relationships with senior-level physicians, PhDs and former government officials. He gained peoples' trust and was admired and liked by everyone in the office.

I have also worked jointly with John when we both were consultants. I brought John into high-tech start-up firm where he once again successfully established the firm's sales division. He hired and trained a sales force and led the team to outstanding results. Again he demonstrated the ability to build strong relationships with funding prospects.

More recently I brought John into the Heart Rhythm Foundation after the first Senior Development person failed. We were off the mark as far as revenue goals and I needed John to turn the situation around fast, which he did. Through his leadership he was able to forge terrific relationships with medical corporations - medical device, pharmaceutical and imaging companies. Under his direction, he and other staff raised over $400,000 in new funds. Part of his success was in the strong relationships he developed with the volunteer leaders, leveraging the value they bring to corporations.

With over 25 years experience in the medical profession, John has an incredible breadth of knowledge is the medical arena - and contacts he's developed and maintained over the years. John is solid businessman with broad managerial and administrative experience. He has directly participated in the sale and acquisition of healthcare companies, product lines and services, as well as developed and executed operations and strategic plans.

On a personal note, he is a delight to work with and a very kind, genuine individual. If someone would like to talk further about John's talents and expertise, please do not hesitate to call me directly at 202-741-2376.”

Lisa Olson, PhD

“Mr. Icardi is a development consultant and was contracted for 20 hours per week by the Society in December of 2004. Mr. Icardi's initial responsibility was to make new contacts and to create relationships in the Pharmaceutical industry that would lead to sponsorship fund income and ongoing collaboration. Through his efforts and by working with other Society staff, more than $400,000 of new funds were raised for Society education projects and successful new collaborative relationships were created.

From June 2005 through November 2006, the Society increased Mr. Icardi's contract hours to 40 per week and he assumed responsibility for increasing funding from existing corporate sponsors in addition to continuing the Pharmaceutical company development relationships. During The Society's fiscal year 2005-2006 Mr. Icardi, in coordination with Society staff and physician volunteers exceeded its base corporate funding budget. As such, Mr. Icardi successfully accomplished our jointly created goals.

Beginning December 1st 2006 The Society opted to transfer development responsibilities to internal full-time staff.

During his consulting tenure with the society Mr. Icardi demonstrated the ability to successfully leverage both staff and volunteer resources in the development effort. His administrative and financial background contributed positively to the management of funds and our auditor's internal requirements. He also demonstrated the ability to build relationships with our staff and was a positive force in the office. Lastly, his experience and knowledge in the medical field contributed to the success of our engagement.

Mr. Icardi operates with integrity and we highly recommend him for any such development consulting position.”

James Youngblood

“I would strongly recommend John Icardi to any organization for strategic development and fundraising needs based on a recently completed contract with John. The American College of Preventive Medicine hired John as a consultant for a two-month, intensive development project from mid-February to mid-April, 2007. ACPM is the national professional medical society for physicians who train in and practice preventive medicine.

The project required a seasoned professional with strong strategic development credentials and experience who understood the association world, preferably the medical/health care sector, and how to assess and leverage the limited resources of a small professional association to generate new income opportunities. ACPM selected John from over 30 high caliber candidates from around the country who applied for the position. John's impressive resume in development, medical association work, and navigating industry relationships, along with his demonstrated track record in bringing in revenues and enhancing the business operations of organizations, immediately placed John near the top of the candidate list. However, it was John's professional, genuine, "straightshooter" manner, consistently cited by prior clients as the key to building a trusting relationship with the client, that sealed the deal for John's hiring by the College.

The short-term nature of ACPM's contract with John was necessitated by a challenging financial predicament in which the College found itself. We needed the expertise of John to objectively assess our current products, services, and other assets, their potential for new income generation, the needs of the market for ACPM's brand and services, the gaps that ACPM could fill in that market, and the strategies to get us there. Our hope was that John's work would show us in a rigorous, analytical way what we suspected for a long time: that there was tremendous potential to capitalize on the growing recognition of the value of prevention and the trusted brand and expertise of the College and to turn that potential into revenues for the College. John just recently completed his assignment, and did not disappoint on any of those fronts.

John started his contract literally the day before ACPM's annual national meeting, and he attended the meeting and hit the ground running. He quickly learned about ACPM, who we represent, how we operate, and how we are perceived. In addition, he demonstrated a passion for the field of prevention and clearly believed in the mission and potential of our organization. Hiswork was high caliber, from beginning to end. He met all of his deliverables on time and produced several other products not on the contract deliverable list. His work was thoughtful and thought-provoking, and challenged us to think about our operations and outreach in different ways. Finally, as advertised, John was extremely professional, courteous, and quickly became well liked and respected among ACPM leaders, members, staff, and others whom he worked with during his assignment.

The bottom line for John's two-month assignment was that ACPM's Executive Committee was convinced by the output of John's efforts to negotiate a new, almost year-long contract with John to execute the strategies in his business plan. This is a significant development and testament to John's potential, given this is a first-time venture for ACPM, carrying significant financial risk.

In summary, I would strongly recommendJohn for any development consulting work and would be happy to discuss John's performance with anyone who so desires.”

Michael A. Barry