Ross Afsahi was studying aerospace engineering at San Diego State University in 1979 with dreams of working at NASA when a momentous event half-way around the world changed his life.
That was the year when an Islamic revolution drove the Shah of Iran from power and forced Ross’s father, an Air Force general with responsibility for Iran’s air defenses, to leave everything behind and flee to the United States
Suddenly, his ambitions of flying into space were replaced by the imperative of finding work to support the family. It was a turning point that set him on a new course to a successful career in insurance, sustained by his characteristic drive and focus.
“When life gives you a curveball such as survival, you have a choice of crumbling or rising to the occasion,” he said. “Most people rise.”
The moment that set him on a new career path came at a campus job fair when a recruiter for Northwestern Mutual saw promise in Ross. “They chased me,” he said. “No one else would hire me.” He also was impressed by the company’s approach in “caring who I am and the type of person I am.”
He admits that the transition from engineering student schooled in analytical skills to insurance salesman needing to be socially adept was not easy. “It took a while, it was a difficult beginning,” he said. “I stayed on despite challenges; I didn’t want to give up. The more I persevered, the more successful I got.”
Despite the need to support his parents and help two younger brothers in high school, Ross found it to be an “exhilarating” time. “That is the adjective that comes to mind…There was no safety net, no steady income,” he said. “I had a sense of urgency. Every day began with a purpose. It was intentional. It meant eat or not eat….I couldn’t focus on luxury, or fun or activities of leisure.”
By 1987, he was able to reap the benefits. He bought a house, married his wife, Kelly, and started his own insurance agency. In 2013, in what he calls the “pinnacle” of his career, that persistence culminated in the sale of the company, which had about 50 employees and $10 million in annual revenue, to Arthur Gallagher, a multi-billion-dollar Fortune 500 global brokerage firm. Ross had done his homework, and he had no qualms about being swallowed by a giant corporation. He believed the two companies shared common values, and he had a bigger goal in mind – “to grow bigger, better and faster.”
Ross is now Area President of Arthur Gallagher, and he is fulfilling his goal by shepherding the acquisition of three smaller companies that “have tripled our revenues.”
Now 59, Ross continues to operate a full speed. “I really don’t separate life and leisure as much as perhaps other people do,” he said. “I get as much joy in a business session as on vacation.” But he still finds time for golf and also enjoys leisure vacation trips with his wife. Their son, 23, is going to medical school, and he hopes their daughter, now attending the University of Oregon will follow in his footsteps in the insurance business. She will intern for Gallagher next summer.
The person who is still the greatest influence in his life is his father, who as a general in the Iranian Air Force brought the family to a U.S. base in Montgomery, Alabama when Ross was six. The family just celebrated his 90th birthday, and in a toast, Ross said that he has strived “to be half as good as him.”
Ross has taken to heart in his business life the words of his father: “In this world all you have is your name with honor and trust If you lose it, you’ll never have it back.”