Leandro P. Rizzuto, Sr. Capitol Hill Program

The National Italian American Foundation is honored to carry forward the legacy of Leandro P. Rizzuto, Sr. through a landmark initiative dedicated to leadership, public service, and the enduring relationship between the United States and Italy. The Leandro P. Rizzuto, Sr. Capitol Hill Program represents a bold investment in the future of Italian American civic leadership and reflects the Rizzuto-Flancbaum family’s extraordinary commitment to ensuring that Leandro P. Rizzuto, Sr.’s legacy continues to inspire generations to come.

The Leandro P. Rizzuto, Sr. Capitol Hill Program is a prominent forum for substantive dialogue on the issues shaping our world. Through a series of public policy focused events, NIAF convenes global leaders, policymakers, diplomats, titans of industry, intellectuals, and other influential voices from the United States and Italy. These distinguished gatherings foster thoughtful, bipartisan and transatlantic discussion on the defining economic, political, diplomatic, technological, and societal questions of our time. From Washington to Rome and beyond, this program offers a platform where ideas are exchanged, perspectives are challenged, and opportunities for greater collaboration are explored.

The ambition of this initiative is worthy of the name it bears. Leandro P. Rizzuto, Sr. understood that a legacy is built not only through what one accomplishes, but through the opportunities one creates for others. This program gives that principle enduring expression by opening pathways for young Italian Americans to serve at the highest levels of government, while bringing together the most consequential voices from both sides of the Atlantic.

The Leandro P. Rizzuto, Sr. Capitol Hill Program is, ultimately, a living legacy. Because education and instilling the belief that “If you can dream it, you can do it” was so important to Leandro, the Rizzuto-Flancbaum family is honored to carry forward his vision. Each fellow who enters the halls of Congress, each leader who takes part in an LPR Sr. forum, and each conversation that advances a shared human understanding will add another chapter to that legacy.

Understanding Leandro P. Rizzuto Sr.

Some people enter a room. LPR filled it. When he walked in, the room changed. People stopped. They looked. Not because he asked for it, but because his presence was larger than the space he stood in. And then he would smile, and the room would soften.

A genius, and a man of few words, when he spoke, you listened. When he told you a story, you leaned in and hoped it would never end. You left his company standing a little taller than when you arrived.

But for all that presence, he was the kindest, gentlest soul you could ever meet. Brilliant in a way that never needed to announce itself. He saw what others missed, and he saw people the same way. So many relied on him. He never let a single one of them down.

Nothing mattered more than family. Together with his parents, Julian and Josephine, with roots in Sicily and just $100 between them, they started Continental Hair Products in October 1959. LPR grew this company into one of the most recognizable brands in the world—Conair—on the belief that “If you can dream it, you can do it,” and with the ethos that “The company is the family, and the family is the company.”

LPR Sr. achieved the American dream despite all odds. He’d say, “God gave me the ball and I’m running with it.” His instincts were so sharp it was as if he had a crystal ball. In the 1970s, the press called him a billionaire tycoon in the making. To us, he was something much greater. He knew what belief could build and wanted us, and every person in the world, to know it too.

He cherished every moment we spent together. Love, for him, was something he did, quietly and completely, without keeping score. The joy on someone else’s face was the only thanks he ever wanted.

All we ever wanted was to make him proud. He is our hero. Our Dad, Grandfather, and Great-Grandfather. Our inspiration, our mentor, and our best friend.

“Time flies, but you’re the pilot.”

– Leandro P. Rizzuto Sr.