The Interview: Caliendo’s Calling

Even if you haven’t had the good fortune of meeting Ray Caliendo in person, you’ve probably experienced his work.

The architect and interior designer is founding partner of the award-winning Art-of-Form Architectural Services, which has amassed an amazingly diverse portfolio during its 20 years in business. If you’ve dined at Sarabeth’s on Park Avenue South in Manhattan, shopped for a VW in Huntington Station or even dropped in at NYIT’s new Rockefeller Library in Old Westbury, then you’ve witnessed Caliendo’s handiwork.

A south shore guy, Caliendo attended NYIT and NYU, supports a variety of charity and business organizations, and simply loves what he does — well, save for those few moments when he fantasizes about pitching for the Yankees. Someday. When he grows up.

To get to know Ray Caliendo, RA, AIA, ASID, read on …

FMC: What are the 3 best things you’ve done in your life?

RC: In order of occurrance, that would be taking care of my mom, then getting together with my business Partner, Mark Searage; and marrying my wife, Anna and taking care of both her and our daughter, Anastasia.

FMC: What mistake did you make that turned out to be your best learning experience?

RC: My failures early in college with math and physics courses set a pattern for me of persistence and never giving up.

I feel as though this is what I was meant to do.

FMC: When you were 5 years old, what did you want to be when you grew up, and why?

RC: Strangely enough, I already wanted to be an architect, although I really didn’t understand exactly what they did. If you asked me now though, I might change it to starting pitcher for the Yankees!

FMC: Why do you do what you do?

RC: I feel as though this is what I was meant to do. Meaning that whatever innate skill sets I have match up very well with what is needed in my vocation.

FMC: What’s your guilty pleasure?

RC: Sun Chips

FMC: What gives you hope for the future?

RC: My faith in God.

FMC: What’s your idea of a great day off from work?

RC: Being on the water with my family on a nice day.

FMC: Coke or Pepsi?

RC: Diet Coke

FMC: Who was/is the most influential person in your life?

RC: My mom, followed closely by my wife, Anna.

FMC: Favorite restaurant?

RC: La Famiglia in Babylon

FMC: Last book read?

RC: The Master and Margarita, by Mikhail Bulgakov

FMC: Where do you get your news?

RC: FOX News, News 12 Long Island, Newsday, Long Island Business News, Crain’s, The New York Times

FMC: What five people, living or dead, would you want to have dinner with?

RC: Any of my Gandparents, Jesus Christ, Andrew Carnegie, Socrates, Michelangelo, Abe Lincoln, John Lennon, Rosa Parks, Buddha, Mother Teresa, Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton, George Washington, Winston Churchill, Confucius, Thomas Edison, Walt Disney,  Billy Graham, John Wooden … Oh, is that more than five?

FMC: Um. Yes. But that’s OK. Favorite drink?

RC: Tanqueray and pretty much anything.

FMC: What’s the biggest misconception people have about you?

RC: That I’m really smart. I’ve got those people fooled!

FMC: Define leadership and tell us, who is your favorite leader and why?

RC: The ability to inspire and motivate others, perform individually and elicit a desire in others to emulate by being an example. My favorite would be Winston Churchill, the right person in the right place at the right time period of history. That’s the perfect storm of leadership.

FMC: What’s your idea of success?

RC: Being able to do what you love exactly the way you want to do it and without compromising your personal life or beliefs.

FMC: What’s the best business advice anyone ever gave you?

RC: To be truly successful in your vocation, you have to work yourself into a truly driven and passionate state of mind that will eliminate the obstacles and setbacks that stop most people. Oh, by the way — that’s pretty much Napoleon Hill by way of Andrew Carnegie.