#6 Vera Muzzillo

Proforma (asi/300094) – CEO

2025 Rank: #7

Industry Experience: 27 years

Previous Appearances on Counselor Power 50: 20

Vera Muzzillo, the CEO of Counselor Top 40 distributor Proforma (asi/300094), moves up one spot on this year’s Counselor Power 50 list after she and her team engineered the largest distributor acquisition of the year: the purchase of Safeguard (asi/316203) from Counselor Top 40 distributor Deluxe (asi/178720). Muzzillo says Proforma is still in the process of onboarding the more than 100 independent distributors that are part of the Safeguard network.

“It’s been critical to welcome and service the Safeguard family while valuing and taking care of our existing Proforma family,” says Muzzillo. “Everyone needs to feel welcomed, valued and supported, and our mission from day one in the acquisition was to ensure that we were creating not just a larger, but a stronger organization.”

The deal stands as the highest-profile achievement of Muzzillo’s solo tenure since ex-husband and company co-founder Greg Muzzillo retired last year. Notably, their business relationship was thrust into the spotlight this fall when Proforma sued Greg Muzzillo, accusing him of repeatedly and knowingly making false statements about the company’s sales and the number of Proforma franchisees.

Vera Muzzillo and her executive team continue to lean into technology and systems to support Proforma’s franchisees. Those investments helped more than two dozen franchise owners earn spots on this year’s Inc. 5000. Meanwhile, the distributor notched an impressive achievement by ranking second among large companies on this year’s Counselor Best Places to Work list.

Muzzillo’s top professional goal in 2027, she says, is “to continue to live Proforma’s mission of empowering success. It’s such an honor and privilege to work directly with our distributors to understand their businesses and to create tools and provide resources that can lead to higher growth, improved efficiency and better profitability for them.”