Employee Spotlight: Guy Chretien

Get to Know Our Director of Finance

We recently sat down with Guy Chretien, Adcco’s director of finance, to talk about his background, business advice, and how he enjoys being a part of the Adcco team — but what we got was so much more!

Did you know this trained ukulele player once rode his bike from Maine to Idaho; has a film credit on the Kevin Bacon movie, “Lemon Sky”; and used to be a truck driver? Let’s take a closer look at Guy’s history as this month’s Adcco Employee Spotlight:

Why did you choose this career path? 

My career path chose me. In college, I studied math and business but found my accounting courses extremely boring. I had a work/study job at the Public TV station on campus. I worked with the documentary film crew and was hired to film the review tape of the football and basketball games. I traveled with the teams and can remember doing accounting homework with the football QB in various airport waiting rooms. 

When I graduated, I took a job in Boston with WGBH and assumed that I would work in TV production forever, but I found myself drawn to accounting and administration. I got hooked and never looked back.

Tell us a little bit about your job history — anything odd or interesting?

At WGBH, I met a lot of celebrities and was an “Assistant Unit Manager” in the filming of the movie “Lemon Sky.”  You can see my name in the credits if you wait until the very end and put it on slow motion! Kevin Bacon was the principal actor and Kyra Sedgwick was the principal actress, so that is where they first met. My wife always brags about getting to dance with Kevin Bacon at the wrap party. 

From “GBH” I became a self-employed consultant — this is when computers were really becoming a business necessity. I worked with CPA firms to computerize their clients’ accounting functions. From there one of my clients pulled me into their business as a controller, and I worked in finance and MIS in a variety of industries before I joined Adcco Inc. I have been with Adcco for the last 15 years and feel blessed to be a part of this company.

What do you love about working for Adcco?

At Adcco, it’s a lot like working with family members. Everyone has a role to do but they look out for each other and are willing to shift their work priorities and activities if needed by another department or fellow employee. We have grown the company organically, and most of our new business comes to us via referrals. 

I was privileged to start when the founder, Tony Colacchio, was still active in the business. I will always have the fondest memories of him. He was the voice of reason in every discussion and the definition of a “people person.”  Everyone loved him. The fruit doesn’t fall far from the tree, and Jason Colacchio has taken what Tony started and multiplied it tenfold.

What’s your proudest moment working for Adcco?

There is no “one proudest moment,” more like a series of 100 proudest moments that are shared by all employees. I feel like we are like the New England Patriots, Jason is Tom Brady and the rest of us are teammates who have a role to execute to the best of our ability.

What’s the best bit of advice you’ve ever been given or can give to others? 

My father-in-law was a CPA; everything that I know about business was something I learned from him. One piece of advice that he gave me was, “Always ask for what you want, never hesitate. The worst that can happen is that they will say no, but you will be surprised at how many times they will say yes.”  

What do you do in your free time? 

Spend it with family and friends. We have a 9-year-old grandson who is my best buddy. I love spending time with him, and every conversation leaves me laughing or in awe. He looks just like my son (his dad) so when we play in the pool, I’m sent back in time to when my 34-year-old son was 9 years old. 

I’m also an amateur musician and play the ukulele in a group that performs at nursing homes. After we perform, I spend time talking with the residents, one on one. It’s easy to look at these residents as just very old people, but when you talk to them you find that many have led amazing lives. One woman told me how she saw Adolf Hitler in person when his car rode by her in a parade and how her family escaped from the Nazis. It’s like touching history when they tell their stories.

What’s one thing we might not know about you?

I grew up in Maine. In 1977, I got on my bicycle in Portland, Maine, and, with a friend, we rode our bicycles across country to Boise, Idaho. It was a memorable trip. I worked in Idaho for a year as a truck driver, became a resident, and then went to college in Moscow, Idaho. Idaho is a beautiful state, and I loved my 5 years of living there. My wife was from Boston, I was from Maine, and we met on a tennis court in Idaho.