Anita Bizzotto, SM '99

Anita Bizzotto, SM ‘99, the chief marketing officer and executive vice president of the U.S. Postal Service since 2001, got her professional start sorting and delivering mail.

Now a leader in the $900 billion mailing industry, ­Bizzotto worked in a post office over the holidays while she was an undergraduate at Knox College in Galesburg, IL. After graduating in 1974 with a degree in political science and theater, she joined a management training program. As she worked her way through the ranks, she held positions including general manager of the Chicago rates and classification center. In 1999, she was named the postal service’s Sloan Fellow, which brought her to MIT to study management.

Bizzotto enjoyed the opportunity to move from the work environment to the classroom. “What was unique and special about my experience was my class–we were extremely collaborative, so supportive of one another,” she says. “We just bonded and became good friends.” At the Sloan School, she adds, “you get reminded of everyone else’s challenges. It’s a chance to reacquaint yourself with other ways of doing things. You can’t help but walk away better equipped.”

After earning her master’s, ­Bizzotto returned to the postal service, where as the vice president of pricing and classification she oversaw a major redesign of the Domestic Mail Manual, the comprehensive document used by large customers and postal employees to locate information vital to mailing decisions.

Facing the need to modernize the nation’s mail system, Bizzotto has led a five-year strategic planning and implementation process that has put many traditional retail services online. Today, she says, “you can go online and use Click-N-Ship and print a label, pay for postage, request a pickup–all without leaving your home or office.” One of her many responsibilities is to let customers know about such new services. In addition to overseeing advertising, she is in charge of the divisions of sales, product development, customer service, and pricing and classification.

Outside of work, Bizzotto, who lives in Washington, DC, enjoys golf and music.