The late Steve Cuntz was posthumously inducted into the RSPA (Retail Solutions Providers Association)
Retail Technology Industry Hall of Fame July 29 at RetailNOW 2024 in Las Vegas, NV.
Cuntz, a leader in the retail IT industry for over 30 years, founded technology distributor BlueStar in 1992. Under his leadership, BlueStar grew into a global powerhouse with over 40 locations, 240+ vendor lines, and 13,000+ customers.
A student-athlete from Ohio, Cuntz earned a Bachelor’s in Accounting and a Master’s in Finance from Xavier University before achieving his CPA license. His entrepreneurial spirit and customer-first approach shaped BlueStar’s unique culture, making it a standout in the retail IT industry. Those who knew him admired his intellect, vision, mentorship, and leadership. For more about Steve’s life and legacy, see the RSPA Blog post “Remembering BlueStar’s Steve Cuntz.”
Cuntz passed away on November 4, 2023. His wife, Vicki, and three daughters, Katie, Emily, and Chelsea, accepted the award on his behalf.
The late Cuntz was presented for induction by Mark Fraker, BlueStar’s Chief Technology Officer, on the RetailNOW 2024 main stage.
Following is the complete text of Fraker’s induction speech:
Today, I am truly honored to be on this stage and to have Steven G. Cuntz inducted into the RSPA Hall of Fame.
Steve was not just a businessman but an innovator with an uncommon inner drive. Thanks to his natural entrepreneurial spirit and customer-first culture, he was the catalyst in building BlueStar into a world-leading technology distributor.
This innovative approach forged our corporate DNA and made BlueStar the company we are today. As founder, President, and CEO, Steve led the company for over 30 years, during which time we were presented with countless industry awards, showcased at the Global Headquarters.
Steve’s leadership was exceptional. He was awarded the prestigious Ernst & Young “Entrepreneur of the Year” and then served on Ernst & Young committees to evaluate future winners. Under his guidance, BlueStar earned numerous business awards, such as the Deloitte Cincinnati USA 100, the Cincinnati Business Courier Fast 55, and the Northern Kentucky “Emerging 30.”
His leadership extended beyond BlueStar, as he served on the AIM Board (Association for Automatic Identification and Mobility), the Future Strategy Committee for the RSPA, and he sat on the Board of Trustees for Xavier University, his alma mater.
At the beginning of COVID, Steve and I were reminiscing about trophies and accolades we had received from our partners over the past couple of decades. He picked up a simple plaque and stated, “This is the most important accolade we have ever had bestowed upon us. All the others have been given to us because we reached a level of sales or grew our business by the highest percentage.
“But our customers gave us this one for just doing what they expect from us. It depicts our DNA and supports our Vision Statement.”
This is the award he held: Technology Distributor of the Year from the RSPA Community. A few feet to the left was our Mission and Vision Statement wall plaque. Our Vision Statement reads:
Our Vision is to provide the finest customer service in the industry and deliver the technologies, tools, and training our global partners need to grow their businesses.
It is signed by Steven G. Cuntz, and it appears on the wall of over 30 BlueStar offices worldwide.
In 2006 in Jamaica, the RSPA members decided to allow vendors to join the association. I can remember at the next Inspire conference, various vendor folks huddled around RSPA CEO Joe Finizio in a small outside alcove discussing the challenges and opportunities with the RSPA. Steve and I were in that group, along with others like Mark Olson, Jim Roddy, Mike Hanson, Paul Constantine, Bruce Mann, and Tom Reichart.
Later that evening, my wife Denise and I had dinner with Steve and Vicki, and we discussed what BlueStar’s participation should be in the RSPA. Steve’s decision was 100% all-in.
Steve explained, “We both (the resellers and vendors) need each other to promote channel health across North America. And what better way to accomplish this than by supporting the association and our partners?”
And so began BlueStar’s 18-year partnership with the RSPA. Steve was one of the catalysts that drove other vendors, large and small, to join the RSPA throughout the years. He was instrumental in forming the RSPA Vendor Working Group, which started at 6:00 a.m. every year at Inspire and RetailNOW.
For most of my tenure at BlueStar, I served as the VP of Marketing, and I cannot remember once when Steve questioned any monetary or resource commitments I proposed for the RSPA. As in 2006, it was all in.
BlueStar has been the Platinum Sponsor of RSPA and a sponsor to the Canadian Community, the Cannabis Community, the ISV Community, the W2W Community, and the NextGEN Community. Steve was the catalyst for BlueStar’s endorsement of the association and touted to all the importance of becoming a RSPA member.
There were even times in the past when Steve instructed our executive team to pay the membership fees for new members so they could experience the value-adds of the association.
They say the strongest oak tree in the forest is not the one that is protected from the storm and hidden from the sun. It’s the one that stands in the open, where it is compelled to struggle for its existence against the winds and rains and the scorching sun.
Steve Cuntz was not just BlueStar’s oak tree, but he stood tall in the RSPA community as well. Today many folks in the channel, including scores of our members, and a good share of you folks in this room, have been touched by Steve’s creativity, his mentoring, his vision, and generosity.
Others like my wife, Denise, myself, and our sons and their families were blessed when the Lord brought Steve into our lives. He is among the finest men I have ever known and will remain an icon in the global technology channel, especially here in our RSPA community.
God bless his soul.
To accept Steve’s induction into the RSPA Hall of Fame, I would like Steve’s wife, Vicki, and their daughters, Chelsea, Emily, and Katie, to join us on stage.
