It might be said that the biggest mistake regarding mistakes is dwelling on them. It’s tough to move forward if you keep looking backward, which is why Dino Pagliarello abides by a simple motto: learn fast. The vice president of product management and production print for Sharp always seeks to learn and pivot, which opens the door to another core value prop: be creative.
After quarterbacking Konica Minolta’s production print platform during a nearly 25-year stint, he landed at Sharp to usher in its nascent production program, with the goal of seeing the OEM become one of the manufacturing leaders in that realm. One thing that creativity has taught Pagliarello is to welcome the opportunity to do things differently. And with apologies to Apple’s “think different” ad slogan from 1997, it boils down to bold strokes.
“I’m trying to turn over a new leaf where creativity is kind of the pillar of doing things uniquely,” said Pagliarello, a 2025 ENX Magazine Difference Maker. “Standing out from the crowd is important—and production is a pretty crowded space. In this new opportunity Sharp has here, I’m relying on creativity, which is one of my big pillars.”
Technically, this is Pagliarello’s second tour of duty with Sharp. While a student at Ramapo College of New Jersey, studying international business, he took advantage of the school’s Cooperative Education Program. That enabled him to get an internship with Sharp Electronics, where he toiled for 18 months in the company’s laptop computer division. The company had invented the WideNote, the first color widescreen LCD laptop with a 16:9 aspect ratio.
New Worlds
When a colleague left Sharp to start a new printer division, PPD, at Minolta Corp., he enlisted Pagliarello’s help in powering the startup. Fast forward to 2024, when Sharp decided to throw its hat in the production print realm and needed an evangelist that customers could identify and trust. The phone rang, and Pagliarello’s journey in the industry returned to familiar territory.
Even after spending the better part of two and a half decades as one of Konica Minolta’s most recognizable personalities, Pagliarello relished the chance to start anew. “It’s been a wild ride, coming full circle with the organization,” he added. “It feels like home. Sure, I was a little nervous, but to me that’s the excitement of it all. To be able to drive things forward with a risk behind it is something I like to do. There always has to be a little bit of risk for the reward.”
In addition to boldly voyaging into the unknown, Pagliarello values the relationships he’s been able to forge, and he loves that Sharp has cemented a firm foundation with its dealers. It’s been that way his entire career; the list of Pagliarello’s influences is a veritable who’s who of the industry. In Frank Cannata of The Cannata Report fame and the dean of the media/analyst space, Pagliarello found a steadfast counsel in areas of business. Additionally, Jim D’Emidio, Mike Stramaglio and Rick Taylor have proven to be bottomless founts of industry knowledge and perspective.
It’s been an exciting year for Pagliarello, punctuated by the October dealer meeting in Orlando, Florida. It gave him the opportunity to be center stage and discuss Sharp’s product roadmap. He had similar opportunities to address internal, nationwide town halls. And the company road shows enabled Pagliarello to have granular conversations with dealer reseller partners.
With 2026 right around the corner, Pagliarello is focused on putting Sharp and production print “in the minds and hearts of people within the industry.” He’s underscoring how the OEM is in the space for the long haul, seeking to drive business. That’s especially important given Sharp’s relative-newcomer status.
Fast Forward
Even after 20-plus years of building his craft in the production print arena and his widespread reputation as a leader, Pagliarello won’t take his foot off the accelerator, fearing the aforementioned stagnation. Sitting still, he notes, is akin to falling backward.
“For me, it’s all about continuous improvement, whether it’s leadership or technology,” he noted. “Trying to take a product line and elevate it to the next level, driving business, constantly thinking—those are the things that motivate me to excel. Our business is extremely competitive and we continue to take share. I have to be constantly improving and outdoing the competition in order to be considered for the client’s business.
Away from the office, Pagliarello and his wife, Yonca, have been married for nearly 15 years. They have two sons who are ardent academy soccer players. Dad has even played goalie on the pitch past dark, helping them hone their shooting skills. The couple have family in Europe and alternate between visiting Italy and Turkey. They’re also amateur wine makers; friends of Pagliarello can expect to receive bottles of his Dino’s Vino around Christmas. The labels are, of course, printed on Sharp machines.
