Luanne DiBernardo

Oro Sports co-founder, Luanne DiBernardo, started her cooling journey in 2008 with her brother Van DiBernardo, a former DKNY designer challenged by the side effects of Multiple Sclerosis. Her company, then called Coolture, was founded to develop the first “lifestyle” cooling vest for people with heat intolerance due to chronic conditions.

Luanne officially launched Coolture in 2010, started manufacturing and selling in 2013, then reorganized as Oro Sports LLC in January 2020. She partnered with Tom Burns, CEO of the cut-and-sew facility that stitched every Coolture cooling garment since its start. Luanne is responsible for product development, brand management, and marketing. The dynamics of this partnership puts design, manufacturing, and customer service under one roof. This advantage finds Oro Sports ahead of the curve in product development, quality control, and private label/product partner opportunities.

In September of 2019, Luanne partnered with the University at Buffalo to develop an improved cooling technology with Dr. Shenqiang Ren, PhD Professor and Chair of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University at Buffalo. A Jeff Lawrence Manufacturing Grant facilitated the development of a unique cooling technology that remains flexible when frozen to temperatures colder than ice. Oro Sports will have the exclusive license for this new technology.

Previous to founding Coolture, Luanne lived in Sarasota, Florida, where she worked in advertising at Chris Craft Industries and Donzi Marine Corporation, the iconic boat manufacturers. She later founded her own agency, which she operated for five years. After receiving a $250,000 grant for her first screenplay, Luanne closed her agency and went into production with her first feature-length film, “Blowfish”. The film earned Luanne three screenwriting awards (Austin Film Festival, Flagstaff International Film Festival, and Orlando International Film Festival), in addition to a residency at The Seaside Institute.