Atlantico
Designs + Business Solutions was started on the brink
of the new millennium by Peter Zurlino, Owner and Web
Designer. Having created a website for one of his earlier
businesses, Peter realized he enjoyed creating a web
presence more than the business he was in. While living
in the Boston area, he began to offer his newly acquired
skills to local businesses in the state's capital. Having
landed the website for a prominent restaurant in the
North End (the city's Italian neighborhood), Peter decided
that website design was his calling.
A
few years later, Peter found himself back in Western
Mass. Having been born and raised in Springfield, Peter's
roots proved to be the perfect opportunity to network
and grow his business. Today, Atlantico works with dozens
of businesses throughout the Northeast. Peter also works
as the District Webmaster for the Springfield
Public Schools, overseeing their district website,
dozens of department sites and over 40 school websites.
In addition to his business ventures, Peter believes
in giving back to the community and is a founding board
member of the Young
Professional Society of Greater Springfield as well
as a board member for the areas premier arts venue,
CityStage
and Symphony Hall.
In
April of 2010, Peter was honored with receiving BusinessWest's
prestigious "40 Under Forty" award, a compilation
of some of the region’s brightest young rising
stars. Check out the following article from BusinessWest
magazine:
Excerpt
from BusinessWest.com
Peter
Zurlino
Owner,
Atlantico Designs / Web Master, Springfield Public Schools
Peter
Zurlino says that his goal when he started out in business
was rather simple: “I didn't want to dread going
to work every day.”
But sometimes
the best ideas are the most simple, and Zurlino said
that, for him, the differentiating factor in his life
was to move into a career that provided something interesting
that he also loves doing. “I love to design Web
sites,” he explained, “and I love knowing
that what I’m doing is helping people's businesses.
It also happens to be that I can make a profit doing
that.”
Since 1999
he has owned and operated Atlantico Designs, working
with and for a growing client base of businesses and
organizations. But what Zurlino considers his primary
role is as the first-ever Web master for the Springfield
Public Schools. Officials there cite his enormous commitment
in overseeing a complete Web presence for the school
system. For Zurlino, with such responsibility comes
a true enjoyment for a job that has him interacting
with all facets of the organization.
“I came
in with a commercial background,” he explained
of his first days on the job. “And I said, ‘I
understand what you folks want to do, but we're going
to need to do it a different way.’ I was able
to bring my business experience to the School Department
and have them see their needs through a different set
of glasses.”
And for this
Springfield native, becoming one of the first board
members of the Young Professional Society of Greater
Springfield allowed him to be a catalyst for further
involvement in the community. “YPS was a shining
star for me. It was an opportunity to get involved with
something on the ground floor. And I’m proud of
where the group has gone; we've done so much.”
Zurlino said
that giving back to his hometown is rewarding, but also
fulfills that important role of being able to love going
to work every day. —Dan Chase
