Name: Steve Cortazzo
Title: Managing Director
Company: Kemper System America, Inc.
Location: Closter, NJ (U.S. Sales Office)
Place of birth: Bronx, NY
Family: Wife Amy; daughters Marissa, and twins Angelina and Stephanie; son Mike, daughter-in-law Jessica, and grandchildren Damien and Aria.
College: Graham Junior College, Boston
First job unrelated to your current field: Home beverage sales (age 12) First job in current field: Atwater Construction, Bronx, NY (age 14)
What your firm does now and its plans for the future? The answer is the same: To continue to lead the industry in high-performance solutions for roofing, surfacing and waterproofing – both for new construction and restorations. And it’s not just technology. We want to improve every aspect of the business.
Keys to success: Building relationships with people, learning what they need and emphasizing solutions. I owe much of my success with Kemper to the architects and consultants who understood that long-term performance matters more than price, and put their confidence in us on major projects.
Person(s) you most admire (outside of family): Vince Lombardi and Rudy Giuliani.