40 Under Forty 2019 winner:
FRANK ZAINO | 35
ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL, CREATIVE ENVIRONMENT CORP.
What is the best advice you have ever received? Don’t carry your mistakes around with you. Instead, place them under your feet and use them as steppingstones.
What advice would you give your 22-year-old self? Remember everything happens for a reason; face obstacles head-on; and don’t fear failure.
What moment changed your life more than any other? When I got sick and had to leave college. If that didn’t happen, my journey would be very different. I would have never learned what real adversity is and how to overcome it. I wouldn’t have started a career in engineering; I would have never met my wife, and she wouldn’t have blessed me with two beautiful children.
What is your favorite Rhode Island food or drink? Italian bread. When I was young, trips to Garzilli’s Bakery in Knightsville [in Cranston] were tradition.
Red Sox, Patriots, Celtics or Bruins? Patriots.
Avengers or Justice League? Avengers. Who doesn’t want to be Iron Man?
THE PROP: “Family is not an important thing; it’s the only thing,” says Frank Zaino, who poses with his wife, Shanelle, and their children, Austin, 3, and Alanniah, nearly 2.
