In addition to perpetuating the nearly 100-year-old independent agency his parents bought in 1955, Parisi also served as mayor of Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey for 10 years—a position his father held for 29 years prior.
Joe Parisi, Jr.
CEO
Otterstedt Insurance Agency
Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey
Joe Parisi, Jr. is upholding his family’s legacy both inside and outside the office.
In addition to perpetuating the nearly 100-year-old independent agency his parents, Lucille and Joe Parisi, Sr., bought from founder Fred Otterstedt in 1955, Parisi also served as mayor of Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey for 10 years—a position his father held for 29 years prior.
“Being a community leader is so much the same as being an independent insurance agent,” Parisi says. “Most independent agents are essentially the mayor of their community—they just don’t have to deal with the politics.”
COMMUNITY SERVICE?
As an agent and as mayor, you’re constantly taking care of others. Somebody calls you in the middle of the night, and whether it’s a fire claim or their garbage can is missing, you’re there to help. The roles are similar—you’re there to provide help and give advice.
LEGACY?
I was born into insurance. Not too many 10-year-olds are excited about insurance, but I was. My father started working for Mr. Otterstedt in 1948. To make a long story short, Mr. Otterstedt decided to retire in 1955 and told my father to go out and get prices to sell the agency. My father got about 10 different prices, and Mr. Otterstedt looked at all the prices and said to my father, “Give me the lowest price and it’s yours.”
That’s why we have not and will not change the name—because of what Mr. Otterstedt did for not only my father and my mother, but me and the 100-some employees we have today. We’ll be celebrating our 100th anniversary next year.
YOUR STORY?
I went to Rutgers for a year trying to figure out what I wanted to do right after I graduated from high school. The more I talked to friends and my family and all these people who said, “Your father’s got a good business—why don’t you get into that?” I realized they were absolutely right.
I transferred from Rutgers to the College of Insurance, which is now part of St. John’s, and they had a five-year work-study program. For three months I went to school, and for three months I went to work. I loved the program because a lot of our professors were hands-on. It was a great way to get into the business—I had exceptional parents. I officially started working full-time for the agency in 1981.
PERPETUATION?
I recently read that the average agency principal is 57 years old. I just turned 58, so now I’m on the other side of the curve, and I have to consider that going forward. I’m not ready to retire yet, but I do realize I need to bring in new talent. I don’t want to be known as that stale, pale, male individual.
Every year, I have all my employees who are 35 and under come over to my backyard. I cook for them and we sit down and just chew the fat a little bit so I can find out, “Why are you working for Otterstedt, and what can we do to attract more people like you into our business?” When you sit down with these young adults, you learn that the so-called generation gap is not so wide.
INDUSTRY OUTLOOK?
Our industry is going to be here today, tomorrow and well into the future, as long as we stay mindful of what’s going on in the world and respectful of everyone we serve. That’s my creed and I try to live by that. Am I 100%? No, but no one will be. You have to strive for it, because that’s the beauty of the independent agents—we’re the bastion for the people. We’re the advocates.
ON CHANGE?
I have to adapt and learn from others—take all that in and say, “OK, what’s best not just for Joe Parisi, not just for Otterstedt, but for all the people I serve?”
ON FAILURE?
Don’t be the complainer—be the doer. You might fail. I’ve made quite a few mistakes in my career, but I’ve learned from them. There’s nothing wrong with failing.
Photo by Katherine Marks
