Lifestyle Personal Lines the September 2015 issue

Matt DeFendis, Principal, DiBuduo & DeFendis Insurance Brokers

I just bought a guitar. If I told you where I bought it, you would laugh.
By Chris Hann Posted on August 27, 2015
Q
Your father co-founded DiBuduo & DeFendis in 1960. How did that come about?
A
Tony DiBuduo and my dad, Leonard DeFendis, were childhood friends. They grew up in Fresno, California, in the Italian community, and they remained very close friends until their passing. Tony asked my dad to go into a partnership. My dad was a glazier, which is someone who installs commercial glass in buildings. He had no insurance background.

How big is the agency today?
We have 240 insurance professionals—70 active brokers in eight cities—primarily in central California, from Sacramento to Bakersfield to the Central Coast. It’s still primarily an agricultural area.

Is that a lot of your business?
It’s primarily agriculture, construction and oil and gas. There’s a lot of oil and gas around the Bakersfield area.

You worked in Washington, D.C., after graduating from UCLA. Why Washington?
In college I did an internship in the office of Congressman Tony Coelho. I really enjoyed the political stuff. After college, I didn’t know what I was going to do right away. There was an opening in his office, so I went back to work there. As a legislative assistant, I handled economic and transportation issues. I really enjoyed it.

And then law school. Why law school?
When I went back to D.C., I saw that most people working in Congress were lawyers or had gone to law school. My father really encouraged me. He said whatever industry you end up in, having a legal background would be a huge plus.

And you practiced entertainment law.
For about four years. Ultimately I worked my way back to Fresno and began to build a practice here. Then I had an opportunity to get into the family business.

And you got to work with your father.
I was fortunate. We worked together for eight years. Mr. DiBuduo and my dad were very well respected not only in our area but nationally, so I was able in those eight years to meet most of the leaders in our industry. Working with your father, there’s nothing better than that. I miss that, to be honest with you.

And now you work with your brother, Mike.
He’s younger by three years. He went to USC and immediately after graduation returned to work in my dad’s business. They worked arm in arm until the day my dad passed away. Mike is a tremendous salesman; that’s really his forte.

So you two get along?
He and I have always been close. Losing our father created a huge hole, but it brought us closer. My father was only 65 when he passed. We had to deal with that loss and at the same time operate his company. He’s my only brother. He’s my best friend. I trust him with everything.

Fresno has perhaps not the best reputation among the world’s great cities. Tell me something good about Fresno.
It’s in the middle of the state, between San Francisco and Los Angeles, so skiing and Yosemite are close, and the ocean isn’t far away as well. It’s very family-oriented. You work and do business with people you know. You see them in church. It’s a different way to do business.

What’s your favorite restaurant in Fresno?
Five, an Italian restaurant; it’s more upscale. The owner is one of our clients, a good friend. When people come into town, that’s where I go.

Do you travel a lot for work?
I do. We joined Assurex Global, and with our relationships with the national carriers, my travel takes me all over the United States, and Assurex is taking us to Europe and beyond.

Your favorite European city?
I’m Italian—I love Florence.

What is something people you work with would be surprised to learn about you?
I just bought a guitar. If I told you where I bought it, you would laugh.

Where’d you buy it?
From an infomercial with Keith Urban. Ultimately, I’m going to learn the play the guitar.

How would your colleagues describe your management style?
Because of my legal background, my style is more cautious, more conservative. I think they look at my style as more law-centric than entrepreneurial.

If you could change one thing about the insurance industry, what would it be?
I wish it were much more forward-thinking from a technological standpoint. And we’re schizophrenic with regard to how we price our product. Those two things sound contradictory, but I think those are two things we struggle with.

What gives you your leader’s edge?
I think our people are extremely strong, technical insurance people. Our service platform far and away exceeds anybody in the areas we operate in. The sales and technical expertise are extremely strong. The relationship component we stress is very high. That lends itself to fairly strong retention, and that gives us an edge over the competition.

The DeFendis File

Age: 55

Hometown: Fresno

Family: Daughter, Devin, 23; son, Dalton, 22

Last Book Read: Wooden: A Coach’s Life, by Seth Davis

Wheels: BMW 750

Chris Hann Associate Editor Read More

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