Art Ciocca (1937-2021)
At the age of 84, after a twenty year battle with cancer, Art Ciocca passed peacefully into the nearer presence of God surrounded by his wife and close family members.
Arthur Angelo Ciocca was born on December 5, 1937 in Tarrytown, NY. He was the oldest son of Dr. Angelo and Helen Ciocca. He is survived by his wife of 40 years, Carlyse Franzia, and two sisters, Helene Hanson of Katona, New York, and Madalyn McCaleb of Boulder, Colorado.
At an early age, Art's immigrant Italian grandfather, a blacksmith with an 8th grade education, persuaded him, "In America you can accomplish anything if you are willing to work hard, stay out of trouble, get a good education and never, never give up." In 1958, as a midshipman in college, Art first saw San Francisco while standing at attention on the deck of an aircraft carrier as it sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge.
Art graduated from the College of the Holy Cross and was commissioned Ensign US Navy in 1959. While in the Navy, Art attended night school and received an MBA from Roosevelt University. He loved to travel and after the Navy, he toured Europe and hitchhiked 10,000 kilometers overland through the Middle East and Africa for 6 months. At that point, remembering the words of his grandfather, he decided to move to the Bay Area which he saw as an open frontier where anything was possible.
Art held positions of increasing responsibility in consumer-packaged goods, but always viewed himself as a marketer and brand builder first. In 1975 Art was hired as President of Franzia Winery with the mandate to build a branded wine business from a struggling commodity portfolio. In 1981, he led a successful leveraged buyout and purchased the company with his five business partners. He renamed it The Wine Group. Thirty days later, he met and soon married the love of his life, Carlyse Franzia. Carlyse's grandmother, Theresa Franzia, was the female entrepreneur who started Franzia Winery at the end of Prohibition in 1933 with $5,000 of borrowed money. Carlyse's entrepreneurial genes and deep family knowledge of the wine business made her the perfect partner for the journey ahead.
Under Art's leadership, Franzia and The Wine Group grew from a struggling commodity business into the second largest wine company in America. The turning point was the introduction of the Franzia Winetap, a disruptive innovation that saved the struggling company and propelled Franzia to become the largest volume wine brand in America and the foundation upon which an entire portfolio of over 50 brands was built. Art retired in 2014 and remained Founder and Chairman Emeritus. He loved the industry he helped shape during its formative years.
Art served on many for-profit and not-for-profit boards and has written two books. In 1998, he and Carlyse started a charitable foundation, the Ciocca Foundation, for the purpose of helping young people improve their lives through Education and Principled Entrepreneurship. The Foundation has granted over a thousand K-12 and college scholarships to deserving students from difficult backgrounds. The most important initiative of the Ciocca Foundation is supporting three University Centers that help potential business leaders learn how to create real long-term sustainable value for companies and society by practicing Principled Entrepreneurship. The Ciocca Foundation also supports research into innovative methods to help children and young people learn more, faster and better by using Artificial Intelligence. Art has helped aspiring entrepreneurs by supporting Business Plan competitions, investing in start-up companies as an Angel Investor and mentoring young leaders. Art was a Horatio Alger Award recipient in 2000 and was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Business from Catholic University in 2019.
Art and Carlyse loved travel and visited over 50 countries together. They loved sports and enjoyed skiing, biking, golf. He also treasured time with his family and friends, and for those fortunate to know him, he leaves an incredible, indelible imprint on our lives. He was always humble about the mentorship he provided to those he loved, but his lasting legacy will be the values he instilled, and his steadfast dedication to helping others realize their greatest potential.
In lieu of flowers or donations, please simply improve the life of a young person.
You can read his book here, Thinking Outside of the Box.