An Unprecedented President
Jocelyn Zimmer Leads Family Business into its
Fifth Generation as First Female President
January 2024
Jocelyn Zimmer at Her Family's Flagship Poughkeepsie, New York, Store
Photo Courtesy: Zimmer Brothers Jewelers
Photo Courtesy: Zimmer Brothers Jewelers
By Jill Valentino
An article published by Cornell University’s Johnson College of Business states that most family-owned small businesses have an average lifespan of 24 years, with only three percent surviving to the fourth generation or beyond. Globally, the percent of women at the helm is quite low. "Currently, 18 percent of family business leaders globally are women, with the highest percentage belonging to family businesses in Europe and Central Asia," KPMG Private Enterprise reports.
Bucking both lifespan and gender trends is Jocelyn Zimmer, the first female president of Zimmer Brothers Jewelers, a family-owned small business located in the Hudson Valley region of New York. Founded in 1893, Zimmer Brothers boasts two retail locations: a flagship store in Poughkeepsie, New York, and a boutique in the town of Rhinebeck. Jocelyn’s current reign as president kicked off the iconic jeweler’s fifth generation of leadership, taking the reins from her father, who led the 130-year-old company for fifteen years before voluntarily stepping down last May.
Though Jocelyn’s current tenure with her family’s company goes back 22 years, she has worked in some capacity for Zimmer Brothers Jewelers all her life. After stepping away for a time to pursue a music career post-high school, Jocelyn shares that she “went full circle,” earning a business degree from Dutchess County Community College and returning to Zimmer Brothers full-time.
An article published by Cornell University’s Johnson College of Business states that most family-owned small businesses have an average lifespan of 24 years, with only three percent surviving to the fourth generation or beyond. Globally, the percent of women at the helm is quite low. "Currently, 18 percent of family business leaders globally are women, with the highest percentage belonging to family businesses in Europe and Central Asia," KPMG Private Enterprise reports.
Bucking both lifespan and gender trends is Jocelyn Zimmer, the first female president of Zimmer Brothers Jewelers, a family-owned small business located in the Hudson Valley region of New York. Founded in 1893, Zimmer Brothers boasts two retail locations: a flagship store in Poughkeepsie, New York, and a boutique in the town of Rhinebeck. Jocelyn’s current reign as president kicked off the iconic jeweler’s fifth generation of leadership, taking the reins from her father, who led the 130-year-old company for fifteen years before voluntarily stepping down last May.
Though Jocelyn’s current tenure with her family’s company goes back 22 years, she has worked in some capacity for Zimmer Brothers Jewelers all her life. After stepping away for a time to pursue a music career post-high school, Jocelyn shares that she “went full circle,” earning a business degree from Dutchess County Community College and returning to Zimmer Brothers full-time.
|
As president of Zimmer Brothers Jewelers, Jocelyn takes a hands-on, active approach to leadership, choosing every piece of jewelry her company sells. She also prioritizes balance when considering pieces to be sold at Zimmer Brothers’ two locations, carrying jewelry bought from a mix of large-scale manufacturers and smaller jewelry designers, including local artisans. Additionally, Jocelyn oversees all designer-specific events held in both stores and approves all designs slated to be sold exclusively under the Zimmer Brothers name. She has also designed jewelry – one piece for herself in collaboration with a manufacturer she met through the American Gems Society, and she aspires to design and create additional pieces in the future.
“[First and foremost], the designs have to be the right fit,” she explains, “but I make it a point to buy from Hudson Valley designers when I can.” She adds, “I was very lucky to have [recently] met two designers from here in the Hudson Valley, Judi Powers and Rachel Atherley. They both design and make their own jewelry in-house. [Zimmer Brothers Jewelers] carries pieces by Rachel Atherley right now, and I’m looking forward to collaborating with both of them, where they will design pieces around the Moyo Gemstones I purchased.” This collaboration, exclusively designed by Powers and Atherley, is one of Jocelyn’s first major innovations as president of Zimmer Brothers Jewelers. With this initiative, Jocelyn ushers in a new era for the business where female empowerment and social justice issues drive collaborative jewelry design. |
Celebrating 130 Years as a Charter Member of the
Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce Photo Courtesy: Zimmer Brothers Jewelers |
“The seed for the Moyo Gemstone collaboration was planted after meeting Monica Stephenson, who owns the Moyo Gems organization,” Jocelyn explains. “She goes to these East African regions and works one-on-one with female artisanal miners and the governments [of each region] to create better working conditions and fairer trade, so the miners get a better price-per-carat for their stones.” The mission of the Moyo Gems organization is to support female artisanal miners in colored gemstone mining regions exclusive to East Africa and to craft “one of a kind” pieces that will be handled by women throughout their entire journey, from mine to market. Each Moyo Gemstone is marked with the name of the woman who mined it, making each stone traceable to a specific miner.
Jocelyn shares, “Then, Monica [Stephenson] buys the stone and sends it to Beth Stier, a female lapidary [gemstone cutter] in Michigan. Finally, it can be sold to buyers like me.” She adds, “Moyo Gems also partners with Gem Legacy, a nonprofit that provides educational opportunities in those [East African] regions. They are actually training people to cut gemstones over there [in the mining regions] to create jobs and help improve their community.” The gemstones in this initiative include tanzanite, sapphires, moonstones, and garnets in all their different colors that can only be found in the East African region of Tanzania.
When asked about overarching goals highlighting her future vision of Zimmer Brothers Jewelers as a company and community staple, Jocelyn immediately replies, “[A goal] is to be able to support more women, whether through our employment structure here, through collaboration and support of women [jewelry] designers and makers, or through community outreach.” True to her word, she has already begun fulfilling this mission, beginning with community outreach. Starting this spring, Zimmer Brothers Jewelers will award its first of what will become an annual endowment-based scholarship to a female Dutchess Community College student majoring in business.
Jocelyn Zimmer describes transitioning into her role as president of Zimmer Brothers Jewelers as a natural progression – she and her father (who continues to work at the company as an estate buyer and appraiser) have a seamless workplace relationship. On how she learned she would become the company's new president, Jocelyn says of her father, “One day, he just looked at me and said, ‘Yeah, I think it’s time. You’re the president.” She adds, “We just had this moment. That’s how we’ve always worked together. It was a very natural transition.”
Though learning of her promotion to President of Zimmer Brothers Jewelers was a decidedly low-key affair for Jocelyn, becoming president meant a lot. “It really became a big deal for me because it elevated how I could feel and think about what I really could do here,” she explains. She also admits to the stress of the endgame and the monumental responsibility she is now tasked with: ensuring the continued success of her century-plus-old family business and preserving its legacy. Jocelyn laughs as she shares, “I tell people that I’m now the president of my family business, I’m fifth generation, and we’ve been in business 130 years. No pressure!”
When asked how she handles such a daunting reality, Jocelyn admits she works exceptionally well under pressure. Also, longevity and familiarity play a part in how she manages her stress. “I’ve been here so long, and it’s been in my family and blood for so long. I fall into a natural rhythm, doing something that comes very easily to me. It’s also something I love.”
Jocelyn shares, “Then, Monica [Stephenson] buys the stone and sends it to Beth Stier, a female lapidary [gemstone cutter] in Michigan. Finally, it can be sold to buyers like me.” She adds, “Moyo Gems also partners with Gem Legacy, a nonprofit that provides educational opportunities in those [East African] regions. They are actually training people to cut gemstones over there [in the mining regions] to create jobs and help improve their community.” The gemstones in this initiative include tanzanite, sapphires, moonstones, and garnets in all their different colors that can only be found in the East African region of Tanzania.
When asked about overarching goals highlighting her future vision of Zimmer Brothers Jewelers as a company and community staple, Jocelyn immediately replies, “[A goal] is to be able to support more women, whether through our employment structure here, through collaboration and support of women [jewelry] designers and makers, or through community outreach.” True to her word, she has already begun fulfilling this mission, beginning with community outreach. Starting this spring, Zimmer Brothers Jewelers will award its first of what will become an annual endowment-based scholarship to a female Dutchess Community College student majoring in business.
Jocelyn Zimmer describes transitioning into her role as president of Zimmer Brothers Jewelers as a natural progression – she and her father (who continues to work at the company as an estate buyer and appraiser) have a seamless workplace relationship. On how she learned she would become the company's new president, Jocelyn says of her father, “One day, he just looked at me and said, ‘Yeah, I think it’s time. You’re the president.” She adds, “We just had this moment. That’s how we’ve always worked together. It was a very natural transition.”
Though learning of her promotion to President of Zimmer Brothers Jewelers was a decidedly low-key affair for Jocelyn, becoming president meant a lot. “It really became a big deal for me because it elevated how I could feel and think about what I really could do here,” she explains. She also admits to the stress of the endgame and the monumental responsibility she is now tasked with: ensuring the continued success of her century-plus-old family business and preserving its legacy. Jocelyn laughs as she shares, “I tell people that I’m now the president of my family business, I’m fifth generation, and we’ve been in business 130 years. No pressure!”
When asked how she handles such a daunting reality, Jocelyn admits she works exceptionally well under pressure. Also, longevity and familiarity play a part in how she manages her stress. “I’ve been here so long, and it’s been in my family and blood for so long. I fall into a natural rhythm, doing something that comes very easily to me. It’s also something I love.”
Jocelyn Zimmer is the first female president of Zimmer Brothers Jewelers, a fifth-generation family jeweler entrusted by the Hudson Valley and beyond for 130 years. Jocelyn joined the family business in 2001 and since has become deeply involved in the Hudson Valley community through her involvement with the Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Arlington Business Improvement District, and several local nonprofit organizations. As a registered jeweler with the American Gem Society and continuing her education through the Gemological Institute of America, she brings over 20 years of experience in the fine jewelry trade to her new role – a position previously held by her father, Michael Gordon.
Spearheading initiatives she’s passionate about, Jocelyn has inked partnerships with Moyo Gems, Gem Legacy, and Diamonds Do Good, organizations that support colored gemstone and nature diamond mining communities. A recent Hudson Valley Magazine Women in Business Award honoree, she is also the driving force behind the Zimmer Brothers Women in Business Scholarship in partnership with her alma mater, Dutchess Community College, a scholarship fund intended to empower the next generation of female business leaders.
Spearheading initiatives she’s passionate about, Jocelyn has inked partnerships with Moyo Gems, Gem Legacy, and Diamonds Do Good, organizations that support colored gemstone and nature diamond mining communities. A recent Hudson Valley Magazine Women in Business Award honoree, she is also the driving force behind the Zimmer Brothers Women in Business Scholarship in partnership with her alma mater, Dutchess Community College, a scholarship fund intended to empower the next generation of female business leaders.
|
Jill Valentino is an educator, freelance writer, essayist, tutor, and educational video and teaching materials creator. Her work has been published in Good Housekeeping, Redbook, Country Living, Elle Decor, House Beautiful, Woman's Day, and Hudson Valley Parent magazine. She is a regular contributor for Sanctuary.
|
