Editorial Staff

Ely Kaplansky Goes from Immigrant to Inc. 5000 Insurance Entrepreneur

/in , , , , , , /by Editorial Staff
Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Share on
LinkedIn
+

This week on JobMakers, host Denzil Mohammed talks with Ely Kaplansky, President & CEO of Kaplansky Insurance. Ely’s unconventional path to entrepreneurship included dropping out of high school and essentially taking the place of the insurance business where he got his start, when it was found that they were committing unethical practices. And since 1974, Ely has created hundreds of jobs in Massachusetts and beyond, with 85 employees in 15 offices across the state today. He has grown his business during the pandemic, with 37 acquisitions to date, such that Kaplansky Insurance was named to Inc. magazine’s “5000 Fastest-Growing Private Companies in America” list. Ely’s success is more than just the pride of having made it. His success fulfilled the dreams of his parents when they moved from Israel to America in 1955, with just the clothes on their backs and an aunt to take them in. Their journey began in the concentration camps of Germany, and Ely’s story is all about the opportunity and freedom America offers, as you’ll discover in this week’s JobMakers.

Guest:

Ely Kaplansky, CIC, CPIA, LIA, is President & CEO of Kaplansky Insurance, a leading independent insurance brokerage that he founded in 1974, which now serves more than 35,000 clients across eastern and central Massachusetts following nearly 40 agency acquisitions over the years. The company serves individuals, families and businesses for all lines of insurance, and has received multiple Five Star and Best Practices awards. Mr. Kaplansky has served as Chair of the Massachusetts Association of Insurance Agents. A high school dropout, he is now a Certified Insurance Councilor (CIC), Certified Professional Insurance Agent (CPIA), and Licensed Insurance Advisor (LIA). The son of Holocaust survivors, Kaplansky moved from Israel to Massachusetts with his family when he was a child and has made greater Boston his home.

Get new episodes of JobMakers in your inbox!

Related Posts

38.8 percent of the Massachusetts workforce and 28.3 percent of the U.S. workforce have filed unemployment claims over the past ten weeks.

0 Comments
/
Data released today by the U.S. Department of Labor shows that 38.8 percent of the Massachusetts workforce and 28.3 percent of the U.S. workforce have filed unemployment claims since the COVID-19 unemployment surge began ten weeks ago.

Once anchored by higher education, Hampshire County, MA finds itself out of work after a cancelled semester

0 Comments
/
The 38,000 college and university students at the Five College…

In Hampden County, COVID-19 exacerbates a stark employment divide between urban and rural areas

0 Comments
/
Hampden County, Massachusetts, home of Western New England’s…

As stay-at-home orders remain in place at the start of summer tourist season, COVID-19 takes a bite out of resort towns’ economies

0 Comments
/
Last month, Pioneer Institute showed that the hospitality and…

Survey Suggests Demand for Telecommuting After COVID-19 Crisis

Citing an avoidance of the commute and more flexible scheduling, nearly 63 percent of respondents to Pioneer Institute’s survey, “Will You Commute To Work When The COVID-19 Crisis Is Over?” expressed a preference to work from home one day a week, and a plurality preferred two to three days a week, even after a COVID-19 vaccine is available. Respondents cite social isolation as the biggest drawback of remote work. The survey was conducted from April 22nd to May 15th, and received responses from over 700 individuals.

Today’s Bureau of Labor Statistics estimate of a 15.1 percent unemployment rate in April only reflects half of Massachusetts’ COVID-19 unemployment surge

0 Comments
/
Today's release by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of a 15.1%…

32.9 percent of the Massachusetts workforce and 26.2 percent of the U.S. workforce have filed unemployment claims over the past nine weeks.

0 Comments
/
Data released today by the U.S. Department of the shows that 33.0 percent of the Massachusetts workforce and 26.2 percent of the U.S. workforce have filed unemployment claims since the COVID-19 unemployment surge began nine weeks ago.

Hubwonk Ep. 6: COVID-19 and Commerce: Main Street’s Concerns with Governor Baker’s Course

0 Comments
/
In this episode of Hubwonk, Host Joe Selvaggi & Pioneer Research Analyst Rebecca Paxton to get reactions to Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker’s phased reopening, from the leaders of two statewide business organizations, NFIB and Retailers Association of Massachusetts.

Holyoke Soldiers’ Home Study Targets Inadequate Nursing Home Staffing Standards

Standards enforced at the federal and state levels are insufficient to address chronic staffing issues reported by staff and residents’ families at the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home, making that facility particularly vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new Pioneer Institute research.

Where in Massachusetts is being hit hardest by unemployment due to COVID-19?

Pioneer’s new tool, called “COVID Unemployment Tracker,” provides an interactive look at how economic shutdowns in response to the COVID-19 pandemic are affecting jobs and lives across the state of Massachusetts.