Jeff Panella

Jeff Panella of West Hartford, CT, currently serves as the Vice President of Sales and Operations for Wireless Zone, America's largest independent Verizon Wireless franchise. Over the course of his career, he has read numerous books on leadership and participated in several professional development programs, which have helped shape his leadership style and professional thinking. To date, Jeff Panella is a winner of the President's Cabinet, the highest professional distinction awarded by his company.

Literature influencing Jeff Panella's business and personal philosophies includes The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen Covey; How to Win Friends and Influence People, by Dale Carnegie; and In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America's Best-Run Companies, by Thomas J. Peters and Robert H. Waterman.

Furthermore, Panella has participated in a team leadership seminar conducted by Wilson Learning Worldwide, a firm specializing in business and personnel improvement, and is now a certified facilitator of the Wilson methodology. As such, he gives talks to businesses in need of guidance or simply an extra boost. He is also certified in the PROFILOR 360, a multifaceted feedback tool used to gauge an employee's performance. In addition, he has taken leadership classes such as Civil Treatment, Performance Management, and Lateral Thinking, a de Bono for Business course that focuses on problem-solving using unorthodox means.

A luminary in and out of the business world, Panella puts his leadership skills to use in service of the community of West Hartford, CT. In addition to managing a men's indoor soccer team, he coaches youth baseball, hockey, and soccer and is a Boy Scouts of America leader. He maintains membership in BNI International and acts as a liaison for the West Hartford, CT, Chamber of Commerce.