Stephen Odzer
About Stephen Odzer
Steven Odzer’s role as the CEO of YBT Industries in Cedarhurst, New York, is distinguished by more than 30 years of innovative leadership in distribution and shipping. The bedrock of his CEO philosophy revolves around strategic efficiency, cultivating learning, developing vibrant company cultures, and mentoring, all synergistically contributing to organizational growth and profitability. He, the patriarch of his family, has seven children and nine grandchildren, enriching his perspective on empathy and patience. These familial values are intertwined with his professional initiatives, driving his commitment to community welfare. A proponent of inclusive hiring practices, he prioritizes providing employment opportunities to individuals with disabilities, promoting self-confidence and autonomy. In the realm of business strategy, his insights are pivotal. He counsels nascent CEOs on the importance of clear vision, effective resource alignment, and strategic implementation to propel company progress. His strategic advice encapsulates crystal-clear vision articulation, insightful understanding of competitive positioning, realistic production goals, systematic and simplistic operational focus, holistic organizational perspective, and maintaining team morale.
Mentoring is integral in his leadership paradigm. He perceives CEOs as the chief mentors, emphasizing the necessity of regular, meaningful engagements with executive teams to align them with organizational aspirations and foster a transparent, high-performance culture. He values relationships, promotes open expression of thoughts, recognizes excellence, and ensures every meeting concludes with actionable insights. Addressing company culture, he deems it essential for CEOs to be architects of organizational culture. He stresses the significance of celebrating achievements collectively, promoting innovative thoughts and actions, sustaining diversity, and maintaining open and transparent communication to reinforce cultural foundations and elevate organizational productivity and cohesion. The emphasis on unending learning is another facet of the leadership philosophy. He advocates for a leadership style rooted in a constant learning mindset, encouraging leaders to embrace knowledge gaps and propagate this learning spirit throughout their teams for collective advancement in the industry.