Philip Tesoriero ’67

Member of Adelphi University’s Profiles in Success program.

Founder and President of Plexus HR and Payroll, HR consultant, management and development trainer

“You often times know what’s right and what’s wrong but you can’t always do something about it in the corporate world,” said Philip Tesoriero ’67, a human resources executive who has more than 30 years of experience working at several major corporations. “I wanted to be in a position where I could finally make those decisions.”

So, Tesoriero leveraged the knowledge he had gained and the network he had built over the course of his career to establish Plexus HR and Payroll Inc., a company that offers full payroll services, credit and employee screening and human resource consulting to businesses.

In 1997, Tesoriero also established Phillip James Inc., a management training company. “Now I do a lot of training in management and development and I’m an HR consultant,” he said. “I have a lot more control. The work that I love most is the management training seminars.”

He currently teaches classes on interpersonal communications as well for Pratt Industries, America’s fifth largest corrugated packaging company and the world’s largest, privately-held 100% recycled paper and packaging company. “People don’t realize the importance interpersonal communication plays in all walks of life,” he said. “I really learned the importance of interpersonal communication at Adelphi.”

As a transfer student in the mid-1960s, he came to Adelphi because he was unhappy with the educational experience he received at the previous institution he attended. “The college I was studying at treated me like I was just a number,” he said. “I wanted something more individualized.”

After meeting with counselors from the University, Tesoriero knew that Adelphi was the place for him. “My dad was ill at the time and I was trying to help him run his business. I was concerned about what school would accept me. The counselors at Adelphi listened and were understanding. They taught me the importance of talking and counselling people. They taught me to care,” he said.

After he graduated from Adelphi with his bachelor’s degree in management and communications, Tesoriero went to work for the Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) as a part of the employment department. “OEO had been created only three years prior as part of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s social and economic initiatives,” said Tesoriero, who was given an office to run in Brooklyn where he worked tirelessly to secure jobs for the unemployed.

Tesoriero left OEO after two years for Chase bank where he entered the management development program and then went on to work in the personnel department. “Adelphi had an excellent reputation in the banking industry and I believe the Adelphi name on my resume is what ultimately got me the job,” he said.

From Chase, he went on to spend the next 20 plus years working in human resources for corporations such as American Savings Bank, Prentice Hall Publishers, Simplicity Pattern Company, Boorum and Pease and International Service Systems.

He took on several training and consulting roles for multiple organizations before he launched Phillip James Inc. and Plexus HR and Payroll Inc. Today, Tesoriero continues to serve as the president of Plexus HR and Payroll Inc. Like its founder and president, the company takes pride in providing personalized attention and tailored service to its customers.

“It’s important to be able to understand and communicate with people,” he said. “No matter what industry you’re in, you are in the people business. It’s a lesson that I learned at Adelphi and have carried with me throughout my career and life.”

Published June 2016