Stephen Odzer

Distribution Executive Steven Odzer Balances His Growing Business, YBT Industries, with Family and Sports

With more than 30 years in the distribution business, Steven Odzer now serves as CEO of YBT Industries of Henderson, NV, a relatively new face on the distribution business landscape.

Steven Odzer recalls his early education and entrepreneurship this way: “I went to Yeshiva of Flatbush High School and then to the Brooklyn College Scholars program,” he says. “I started my first company at age 18 out of my parents’ basement. I was named the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2000 in the area of distribution.”

YBT Industries

Although YBT is a new company, Steven Odzer applies the principles and lessons he has learned from three decades as a distributor. As YBT expands its business profile, Odzer anticipates exciting upcoming announcements about his new company’s growth.

Steven Odzer’s strong work ethic keeps him focused. Instead of aiming for retirement, he’s striving for the next big thing. YBT Industries holds that potential, he believes. But family, sports and political interests also keep him very busy.

Family Ties

Steven Odzer has already enjoyed a rich life. “I have seven kids and eight grandkids,” he says with a smile. “I also have many family members living in Israel and I am a large supporter of both Jewish and non-Jewish causes.” Odzer also stresses that he is “solid advocate of strong Arab-Jewish business cooperation.”

Odzer’s children, and even more so his grandchildren, keep him fit and on his toes, he says.

Yankees and Golden Knights

As a New York City area resident, Steven Odzer has always been a big fan of the New York Yankees baseball team, a club that has provided its fans with far more World Series championships than any other Major League Baseball organization. The Yankees are headed to the playoffs again in 2019.

But in recent years, Odzer has spent some of his time more than 2,500 miles away from New York, in Henderson, Nevada. While there, he fell in love with the Las Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League. The Knights were the first expansion team in the top tier of any major American sport to reach the championship round of the playoffs in their very first season, 2017-2018.

Steven Odzer believes in giving everyone a chance.

“We promote and support agencies that hire people with disabilities,” he says. “And we are a large supporter of Bris Avrohom, a large non-profit founded in 1979 that helps Jewish immigrants from Russia adjust to life in the U.S.”

Another worthy organization that Steven Odzer has affection for is the AHRC Foundation, which provides financial assistance and support services for the benefit of individuals, especially children, who suffer from intellectual or other developmental disabilities.