AGE:37
POSITION: President, Gem Plumbing & Heating Services Inc.
RESIDENCE: Lincoln
LIFELONG AMBITION: To become CEO of a $500 million company
FAVORITE BOOK: “Good to Great,” by Jim Collins
GUILTY PLEASURE: Gourmet chocolate
At age 10, when most children are thinking about play, Anthony P. Gemma worked side by side with his father to learn the plumbing trade.
And though he took a reprieve to earn a B.S. in legal argument and communications from Suffolk University and a juris doctor degree from Roger Williams University, Gemma returned to the family business after he graduated in 1998.
But at that point, his title switched from plumber/foreman to executive vice president and chief operating officer. In 2002 he became president of Gem Plumbing & Heating Services Inc. Since then, Gemma has developed and implemented an aggressive strategic marketing campaign that increased sales from $9 million in 1999 to $35 million in 2006.
The marketing campaign was part of a three-year restructuring plan developed with help from the R.I. Economic Development Corporation, outside business consultants, affinity groups and trade organizations.
Today, with more than 300 employees and 165 trucks, Gem Plumbing is one of the largest plumbing and heating companies in the United States. And its service offering have expanded to include drain cleaning, “handyman” services and electric and septic services.
In addition to running the company, Gemma has “embarked on a journey to reduce costs of health care” in Rhode Island and nationwide, he wrote in his 40 Under Forty application.
In 2005, he developed a program called Benefits By Design, which he described as “a proactive approach to engaging companies throughout Rhode Island to work toward healthier lifestyles for their employees, resulting in lower health care costs.”
Gemma has given presentations on the program both locally and nationally.
The year before launching the health care program, Gemma developed the Gem Institute for Performance Excellence, which provides guidance to organizations.
Through the program, he teaches on topics such as leadership, strategic planning, inventory control, fleet maintenance, process management and knowledge management.
Unrelated to business, Gemma in 2003 co-founded the Gloria Gemma Breast Cancer Resource Foundation, a nonprofit, in honor of his mother, dedicated to increasing awareness of early breast cancer detection.
