Robert DeFalco led materials firm Ampacet Corp. for 17 years, growing the company from sales of $350 million to more than $1 billion while making nine acquisitions and opening eight new plants.
But the question remains: Can DeFalco dance?
That question will be answered Sept. 9 when he takes part in a Dancing Stars charity event in Danbury, Conn. The event will be hosted by Fred Astaire Dance Studio of Brookfield. DeFalco will be raising money for Family & Children's Aid, a non-profit group that provides mental health care for children and their families in central and Western Connecticut.
“I'm proud to be a member of the Family & Children's Aid foundation board, but have recently agreed to demonstrate my support in a more personal manner,” DeFalco wrote in a recent letter. “Most of you know that I cannot dance the Hucklebuck, let alone Ballroom, but I've committed to invest in multiple dance lessons over the next eight weeks in an attempt to meet this worthy challenge in September.”
DeFalco will be one of eight contestants in the event, in which he'll be partnered with a Fred Astaire instructor. Tarrytown, N.Y.-based Ampacet is one of the sponsors of the event.
DeFalco retired from Ampacet — one of the world's largest makers of color and additive concentrates — in 2015. He had been with the firm since 1983 and had held the top jobs there since 1998.
Anyone looking to sponsor DeFalco and Family & Children's Aid can do so here.
And we'll keep our fingers crossed hoping for video of DeFalco doing the Whip, Nae Nae or Electric Slide.
