April 7, 2026 • 21 mins
Have you ever wondered what it takes to go from being a wedding DJ to the CEO of a major technology company? In this episode, we talk to Brad McIntyre about his long career at Otis Technology. Brad has worked at the same company for twenty-five years and has done almost every job there. He started as a designer and worked his way up to the very top.
Brad explains how the people he worked for taught him about money, building things, and using data. He also talks about how much he loves going to big trade shows to see his friends from all over the world. The company is like a big family where everyone helps each other out. They even make all their products in New York to help the military and police. If you want to learn how to grow in your career, you should listen to this story. Check out the full episode to hear more about how Otis Technology stays successful!
Links
- Otis Technology (OtisTech.com) - Mentioned at 19:55 as the primary website for their products.
- SHOT Show (shotshow.org) - Mentioned throughout (e.g., 0:18) as the venue for the recording and industry gathering.
- Bass Pro Shops (basspro.com) - Mentioned at 19:22 as a major retailer for Otis products.
- Scheels (scheels.com) - Mentioned at 19:23 as a retail partner.
Key Takeaways
- Career longevity allows for deep, cross-departmental "tribal knowledge."
- Soft skills from unrelated fields (like DJing) are highly transferable to executive leadership.
- Authentic marketing often requires "real-world" conditions (like actually dirty equipment).
- American manufacturing thrives on direct feedback from the end-users (military/LEO).
Keywords
- Otis Technology
- SHOT Show 2026
- Brad McIntyre
- Firearm Maintenance
- Lean Manufacturing
- AS ISO 9100
- NSN (National Stock Number)
- Tribal Knowledge
- Upstate New York
- Gun Cleaning Kits
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_01 (00:14):
Welcome to Amateurs and Experts Podcast.
I'm Erica Chid and I'm here withMaggie Reese.
We're at uh SHOT Show 2026 inthe Otis Technology Booth.
And I am so excited to be herewith Brad McIntyre, the CEO of
Otis Technology.
What?
SPEAKER_02 (00:31):
Yeah, thank you.
Thank you.
SPEAKER_01 (00:34):
So excited.
So Brad, tell us like how I knowyou're new CEO, but you've been
with the company forever.
Yep, about 25, almost 26 years.
And how how did they, you know,like how how does that work when
you're there for 25 years,you've probably done everything
in the company.
SPEAKER_03 (00:54):
Yep.
Yeah.
You know, I I was actuallyemployee number 12.
So I've wow.
And that was back when the youknow the family was there and
Doreen's father, Jerry.
Um, you know, so they heard athey needed a graphic designer.
That was my background.
That's what I did.
So I came in and I started.
Well, I was also a wedding DJand uh I did video karaoke.
(01:18):
So the extrovert person thatthey needed when they needed to
call you know somebody in tohelp tr with trade shows and
whatnot, so that's what I did.
So dial ahead, they're like, youknow what, we need a
salesperson.
He's an extrovert, he's goodwith people.
I mean, he can you know make atwo or three hundred person
wedding go.
Right.
Yeah, so that's how kind of howI started in sales.
SPEAKER_00 (01:40):
And I was gonna say, i it doing weddings, you were
probably used to a lot ofdifferent personalities, a lot
of alcohol, a lot of you neverknew what was gonna get thrown
at you.
SPEAKER_03 (01:50):
And you and you know, if you can make a bride
happy on her wedding day, uh youknow, yeah.
Yeah, you learn a lot from doingthat.
SPEAKER_00 (01:58):
That's it's so interesting because like I I
feel at in this day and age,like people just don't stick
with a company for a long time.
They're they're here for twoyears, they go someplace else,
and but you know, they're notcaptured.
SPEAKER_03 (02:10):
Some of it is you want to just keep broadening
your your portfolio of what youcan bring to the table to get to
the next level.
And you know, I've stood thetest of time at Otis.
You know, I worked under Doreen,who's you know, the the original
founder, and she's a beautifulperson, and I've known her for
well almost 26 years now.
And the person that um replacedDoreen, his name was Len, he was
(02:34):
a CFO, promoted to CEO, so thatreally gave me a broader
understanding of how the financeperk works in in the business.
And understanding margins andyou know, just the cash flow,
you know, that whole part of it.
And then after Len, Doreen'sbrother Larry came in, he's an
operations guy, it really pushedthe lean manufacturing
(02:54):
principles within theorganization, AS we're you know,
compliant to an AS ISO 9100standard, so which I would have
never learned that piece of thebusiness.
And then Bill, or yeah, Bill,who is our current CEO, who just
you know is is out a coupleweeks ago, he's an engineer.
So it really showed how data candrive a business and brought
(03:16):
that at so I've learned so manydifferent aspects of how a
business can run without havingto job shop every five to ten,
you know, seven years orwhatever.
SPEAKER_00 (03:24):
So well, and they gave you that growth pattern and
and celebrated it with you, youknow.
So you have to have that pathand a company that allows you to
come into your own.
SPEAKER_03 (03:33):
And I've so and then back in 2005, Doreen and her
sister Denise took me to lunchone day out of the blue, which
wasn't out of the blue, but theywere like, you want to go to
lunch and to lunch?
And they said, you know, our dadJerry, who's an icon in this
industry, everybody knows JerryWilliams, uh, they said, We want
you to take over for dad on thelaw enforcement and military
(03:54):
side of the business.
Okay, because I had been Jerry'sright hand for about a year, and
it was just we traveled welltogether, and um, so they asked
me to step in and take over forhim.
So that was kind of where Ifirst jumped into being
responsible for for the salespiece of the business.
So that's what I hope to bringto Otis at the next level is you
(04:14):
know, we're we're lean, we'reefficient, we do good things.
Uh-huh.
I can I have an eye on howsales, the sales process works.
So now I'm step in and drivesome revenue and capture the
market space.
SPEAKER_01 (04:26):
It's it's really cool that you uh firsthand uh
were taught in this industry allthe different you know aspects
of it, and now you can put it,you know, you can put it into
your style.
SPEAKER_03 (04:39):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (04:40):
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (04:41):
You know what the weird the I it was actually
started in November of 2024 whenthis process, Bill announced his
retirement, and the family had achance to think about what they
wanted to do next to hire theirnext CEO.
And when they asked me, it wassomething I never saw in myself.
I you know, I love sales.
I love it at SHOT Showyesterday.
(05:02):
I met with a whole bunch of mydifferent Poland and Guatemala
and all my these aren't justcustomers to me, they're
friends.
I've known them for so long anddone so much that uh, you know,
I I saw my I always saw myselfas just a salesperson until the
day that I retired.
And when somebody sees somethingyou don't really see in
yourself, you're almost me?
(05:23):
You you want me to and thecustomers and the partners and
the relationships I've made forthe last 25 years have come
because this is my 25th SHOTShow to take out COVID, and just
the people that have come to methat um you know, a a friend of
mine who worked at the StateDepartment now works for
Magpole, and he saw me when Iwas grabbing a cup of coffee and
(05:44):
he congratulated me, and it'slike it's just it's flattering
and it's humbling.
SPEAKER_00 (05:47):
Well, that's what I love about SHOT Show too, is
because it's like the only timeof year where you get to see
certain people like face to facebecause you're on the phone or
Zoom or email or whatever, butyou come to the show and then
you get to hang out in personand go grab a you know a bite
and all that stuff.
So that's a family reunion.
Oh, yeah, it absolutely is.
SPEAKER_03 (06:04):
It absolutely is.
It was like it was like, youknow, as you know, when you do
it, it can also be grueling bythe time you get to the end.
You know, so like the COVIDyear, people were having these
mixed emotions like no shot showthis year, could be a relief,
but man, I'm gonna miss it.
And then midway through, you'relike, man, this is kind of weird
not having a shot show, and thenit's all kind of a blur now.
SPEAKER_00 (06:27):
Yeah, it's it's a love-hate relationship because
like when you're in it, you'remeant you're like, man, this is
go, go, go, go, go.
Yeah, and then you're like, Ijust want to get out of here,
but then you look forward to ittoo.
SPEAKER_03 (06:36):
And then you always think about the shot show crud
on the back end, and everybodyalways gets something.
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (06:42):
Yeah, so uh what do you do to prepare for shot show?
From a health side or from youknow both.
SPEAKER_03 (06:50):
You know, so for me, you know, I always do the, you
know, reach out to all mycontacts, you know, swing by,
and you know, we always we havea reception today, but I always
like to tell people swing by,let's have a beer, you know,
catch up, talk about, you know,what's new, what what happened.
From a health side, I you know,I just try to make sure you get
the vitamin C in you, the zinc,and the you know, all the all
(07:12):
the things you you try to do tostay healthy, the hand
sanitizers and all.
SPEAKER_00 (07:16):
I sent Erica to the store.
I I was driving out here and Iwas like, Erica, I I forgot my
airborne.
Like I had like and I had likemy list of supplements and
things that I needed, like justto just to stay healthy
throughout the show.
SPEAKER_01 (07:29):
Yeah, I started I start a couple of weeks early
and start with the C's and theD's and the Bs, and then uh my
husband is an ER nurse and healso does home IVs.
So I pre-gamed it and he gave mean IV with a bunch of vitamins.
SPEAKER_00 (07:44):
He flew out last year and gave us IVs during the
show, and I was like, this isthe greatest thing that's ever
happened to me.
SPEAKER_03 (07:51):
So so last year was horrible.
My wife and I we planned a tripto Puerto Vallarta to Mexico the
week after SHOT Show.
I ended up getting COVID lastyear, the last day of the show.
So I had two or three days to,once I got home to recuperate,
well, as luck would have it, orunluck would have it, my wife
caught it as we were gettinginto Mexico.
(08:12):
So four days at an all-inclusionresort, she's just wiped out.
And yeah, so trying to avoidthat this year.
Don't do it.
SPEAKER_01 (08:21):
Lots of hand sanitizer, I feel like.
Yeah, washing the hands.
I try not to put my like there'sso many guns here that you just
want, you know, you're like soexcited and put it right up to
your face.
I try not to put guns to my faceanymore.
Like, there's there's a coupleof things that you have to take
into consideration.
Sure do.
Are you gonna, you know, whatare you gonna touch that uh a
(08:43):
thousand other people have thatmight have that cootie bug?
Yep, that's for sure.
SPEAKER_00 (08:48):
So what's your what's your firearms experience?
Like, what do you are are you ashooter, a hunter, a sportsman?
SPEAKER_03 (08:54):
Yep, so a little bit of everything.
I don't hunt as much as like myson, he's a big hunter, he loves
to hunt, bow, rifle.
I don't like being cold.
We're from upstate New York, andand I'm just I can appreciate
that.
I'm 50 now.
The days of me wanting to go outwhen the rain and the snow is
coming right sideways to hunt adeer is not my thing.
I love I love Canada goose, uhsnow goose hunting because you
(09:17):
don't need to be sitting quiet,you know, you just wait until
the guide, if you're if you'rehunting with a guide, says, you
know, birds, and you just kindof hunker in your blind until
it's time to get out and shoot.
I love pistol shooting, I lovetrap shooting, shot yeah,
probably pistol and uh shotgunare my favorite.
Okay.
But yeah, I it's just working inthis industry, you know, every
(09:39):
now and then you get this, hey,I want to send you something,
and you you find out thatsomebody sent you a firearm
because they want you to test itout and they appreciate your
opinion, and you know, they wantyou to have a piece of history
that you know, so all kinds ofthings, you know.
Otis owned a gun company DRD foruh for a couple of years, and
um, you know, so that's kind ofcool.
So, you know, look did a fewbuild home build AR builds and
(10:02):
stuff like that.
So, yeah.
And how often do you clean yourguns?
So on the spot here.
So so funny, so funny thing, youknow, it's you know, we we we
have an FFL at work with an SOT,and we you know, we've got
machine guns and everything, sowe and suppressors and all that
good stuff, even being in NewYork, so which is pretty neat
(10:25):
unique.
Yeah.
Um, but you know, we do, we youknow, we had you both met
Heather, you know, we have amarketing team in-house, video,
graphics, the whole everything.
So we always need dirty guns forvideo content and photo content.
So believe it or not, dirty gunsare a are uh are a are a value
at Otis if you can bring them inso they have you know content
(10:47):
with uh so bringing dirty guns.
Exactly.
So I so I make a point to neverclean my guns because they may
need them for videos.
SPEAKER_00 (10:54):
Need it for camera.
I know.
SPEAKER_03 (10:56):
That's awesome.
Isn't that awesome?
SPEAKER_00 (10:58):
Yeah, that's super cool.
I would take advantage of thattoo much.
SPEAKER_03 (11:02):
Absolutely.
Well, sometimes, you know, whenwe're we're we're always trying
to grow our portfolio ofchemicals and hardware and
stuff, so sometimes you thedirtier the better with what
depending on what you're tryingto you know to bring to market.
SPEAKER_01 (11:14):
I love that.
Yeah, and especially if youclean it like really good, I
feel like I would definitely ifI lived around you guys, I would
definitely drop all my guns off.
SPEAKER_03 (11:24):
Well, we actually we have a small hardware store
that's a you know a half an hourup the road.
And we do uh every year we do ayou know a session where people
can bring their firearms andthey show how to clean the
firearms and and wait foremployees or yeah, so we have
yeah, a few people from our likeour ins inside sales team.
It gives them experience.
Yeah, and uh yeah, so the peoplefrom the neighborhood will come
(11:47):
by with their firearms, cleanthem for them, and eventually
it's pushes them to go insideand buy the products.
But it's a it's a pretty neatthing that they're always like,
do you want to put this outthere?
SPEAKER_00 (11:56):
Like so many people are gonna be showing up.
SPEAKER_03 (11:59):
Yeah, yeah, it's a it's a pretty it's a pretty it's
a pretty unique thing that theydo.
SPEAKER_01 (12:04):
And is that like what when is that once a year?
SPEAKER_03 (12:07):
Yeah, like it's a once-a-year thing that they do.
They have like an open house,uh, yeah.
It's a hardware store that'sgot, you know, it's you know,
tons of firearms, ammunition,accessories.
Hardware.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (12:18):
I love it.
I wear guns.
Well, there's different parts ofthe country where it's like, you
know, guns, gas, your your baitfish, right?
Burritos.
You're like, hey, it's all inone place.
This is so cool.
Skins.
I remember.
SPEAKER_01 (12:36):
Deb Deb Ferns, the founder of uh Woma, she is um I
like we've taken severaladventures with her.
So um I'm I feel prettysheltered when it comes to
adventures as far as Deb Fern'sadventures.
And um, I had never met anybodylike her, but I never say no
(12:58):
because it's so such anadventure, like I don't want to
miss out, right?
And um, so we were driving likecross country, and she's like,
we stopped somewhere, and she'slike, Oh yeah, I stop here all
the time, and I'm like, uh, whatis this place?
It was a gas station, it waslike the the old, old gas
station.
And then you go inside and she'slike, Yeah, go inside and check
(13:20):
it out.
There's like skins on the wall,and there's like all these
things, and then they have umthey they have all this deep
fried food, and then out backthey um pour their their grease
out back, like their old greasethat they fry everything in.
SPEAKER_03 (13:37):
I've seen people take that grease and make
biodiesel people out of it.
That was big for a while.
SPEAKER_00 (13:41):
I can run a truck on it.
Only Deb.
SPEAKER_01 (13:44):
You can run a truck on it.
Oh god.
So, you know, Otis has been alongtime sponsor of She Never
Quit and Um The Walmart, and wereally appreciate that.
Um I I know that you talked toDeb a little bit before here,
um, just the culture of thecompany and how important that
is.
Yeah, and um, you know, itstarted, you know, by a female,
(14:08):
this company started with a16-year-old.
SPEAKER_03 (14:11):
And um, you know, is there something that you like
your heart or you know,something that uh so you know
for me I I quickly became fondof the the the message, the
passion, the industry, and youknow, I I owned a shotgun and a
22, uh Marlin Model 1622 and aSavage Stevens uh bolt action
(14:37):
shotgun.
That was that was it before Istarted working Yotis.
I've way more than that now, butthat was that was how I started.
And when uh I remember one day,you know, we had we had ordered
a bunch of the black uh softcases, and the tractor trailer
came to to drop them off.
Well, they opened up the gate,this the gay lord that they came
in had exploded on the truck,tort.
(14:59):
So all of a sudden the door goesup, uh Doreen knocks on the our
my door to my office and shesays, Hey, can you give us a
hand a minute?
We have to get these off thetruck so the truck can leave.
She was the first one on theback of that truck loading up
the boxes and picking everythingup, and I said, you know what?
A, I aspire to be that kind of aleader who's willing to be the
(15:22):
first one in, and I've alwayskind of led by that in my 25
years of managing differentteams that I have, and that's
the message that I'm gonna take,you know, forward, and just the
culture, and it just they theythey practice what they preach,
and I and I get behind thatevery day.
I think that's great.
SPEAKER_00 (15:39):
I mean, as far as and and leading by example, you
know, well, and I think it alsofilters down to the products
too, because you see stuffthat's really usable, that's
really functionable, um, youknow, that that serves a
purpose, that serves a need forthe community.
So it translates outside of thecompany.
SPEAKER_03 (15:57):
Well, you know, that's the nice thing about
everything being built inupstate New York, is you know, I
my my main background is sellingto the military, law
enforcement, and internationalcustomers.
I can tell you there were somany times you'd be talking to a
young soldier, a young Marine,and they'd be like, I really
need a piece that does this.
And I would go back, and wewould we would put it together.
(16:19):
And we had send samples, they'dtry it out.
You know, back then it was wewere fighting a war in two
countries, and all of a suddenbe finding we got an NSN on a
product because you've you founda need, you filled the need,
you're supporting the troops,you're doing what feels good,
and you know, you're buildingout products just because you're
doing the right thing.
SPEAKER_00 (16:40):
Right, it's it's beyond just trying to make a
buck, but actually trying toreally implement something
that's gonna be useful out inthe field.
SPEAKER_03 (16:46):
I've I've actually said that, you know, working
within the military, um, I haveprobably given away one kit for
every kit that I probably havesold in sales.
Yeah.
I I wouldn't I wouldn't doubtthat a bit.
But that's you know, thatgrassroots marketing that, you
know, the cost of a kit versusyou know dropping an ad in a
publication, it it just thatgrassroots marketing is is kind
(17:08):
of one of the foundations ofthis of what we do here.
SPEAKER_00 (17:11):
This has been so much so much fun for me because
I feel like I I mean I we'veworked with Otis for years and
years and years, but I didn'trealize some of this stuff like
internally, and so I've lovedlike Heather's stories and your
stories.
Like it's it's really cool whenyou think about it.
SPEAKER_03 (17:25):
So it's you know, I have a before my promotion two
weeks ago, three weeks ago.
SPEAKER_00 (17:30):
Was it really that?
SPEAKER_03 (17:31):
Oh my gosh! I mean it's been in the works for about
a year, but but yeah, the end ofthe the it was January 1 was the
official day.
Yeah, uh, you know, Nancy, um,she's my government contract
manager.
Great job.
She's been with the company like23 years-ish.
Uh, Greg is my government salesmanager, he's about 20.
I'm 25.
So in my department, we had youknow, we had like 70, 80 years
(17:55):
of knowledge, and you know, someit was easy to call us in and be
like, what do you guys thinkabout this?
It was like, we kind of wentdown this path about 10 years
ago.
I don't recommend it.
Uh-huh.
I mean things evolve and thingschange, but right, you know, you
just it's awesome to have thatthat much tribal knowledge in an
area, you know.
We've all sat in differentseats, we've done different
things, so you know, we bringthat, and we're all passionate
(18:18):
about they have both, they allhunt, they you know, so we're
not although we're on thegovernment side of the business,
you know, we're still usersevery day of the product, shop
in those stores.
That's the deal.
SPEAKER_00 (18:28):
You probably know more about each other and your
personal life.
Oh, for sure.
For sure, for sure.
SPEAKER_01 (18:34):
It's almost like you grew up together, right?
Yeah, without a doubt.
No hiding anything.
Oh, yeah, without without adoubt.
SPEAKER_03 (18:39):
Like, you know, I've I've watched, you know, so
actually I was, I mean, it'sfunny, you know, I did the
wedding stuff, but I also beingin graphics, photography was a
big thing.
I was uh I was the photographerat Nancy's wedding, and I so
Greg had a band and it uh hiswedding, and when the band was
done, I set up and finishedDJing his wedding.
(19:00):
So it was like, you know, yes,but yeah, very, very close-knit
company that we work for.
Everybody's very close.
Everybody's everybody's lookingout for one another, doing the
right thing.
And we're in a small communitywhere we are upstate in New York
too.
SPEAKER_00 (19:12):
Yeah.
So you can't hold back with eachother.
SPEAKER_01 (19:14):
No.
So if somebody is looking forproducts, where would they find
them?
SPEAKER_03 (19:19):
For our products?
Yes.
Oh, you know, we're obviouslythe big box stores, you know,
the Bass Pro shops of the world,Shields.
Um, but you know, we we we'vegot as much emphasis on working
with the small dealers, the momand pops, uh-huh.
You know, a lot of the a lot ofthe cop shops, the you know, the
the law enforcement focusedretail stores as well.
(19:40):
Um can they can they reach outto you by um OtisTech.com?
They can, yep, yep.
It's our website.
Um quick Google searches,everybody's using AI now as
well.
You can uh, you know, uh Heatherand her marketing team do a
really good job of being ofmaking sure that messaging goes
out and they're using it's waybeyond my like you know, I'll
(20:00):
use Chat GPT and copilot fromnow on to help craft the
messaging and things like that.
But they they're in the do.
They they're dialed in there.
That's what they do.
SPEAKER_01 (20:08):
Yeah, well, thank you so much for being on our
podcast.
We really appreciate it.
I appreciate it.
SPEAKER_03 (20:12):
This this is my very first podcast that I've ever
done.
I'm sure I'm sure it will not bemy last, but this is my first
one.
So I was like, I was tellingHeather, I'm like, so what do I
what do I say?
What do I do?
She's like, it'll come naturallyonce you start the conversation.
SPEAKER_00 (20:26):
Yeah, well thank you.
SPEAKER_01 (20:32):
Thank you for being such a great sponsor, also.
I mean we couldn't do it withoutyou.
SPEAKER_03 (20:37):
Yeah.
And I, you know, when I when Icome by and I see all the
activity that's going on herewith the Otis in the background,
and what you guys do, the it tosupport the shooters, the female
shooters, the it's outstanding.
And it's you know, it's the it'sthe it's a it's an important
piece to this whole thing, youknow, in youth sports, and I see
a lot of that in the few youknow with different companies as
(20:57):
well.
So it's awesome.
SPEAKER_01 (20:58):
Thank you.
Thank you.
Have a great show.
Thank you.
Welcome to Amateurs and Experts Podcast.
I'm Erica Chid and I'm here withMaggie Reese.
We're at uh SHOT Show 2026 inthe Otis Technology Booth.
And I am so excited to be herewith Brad McIntyre, the CEO of
Otis Technology.
What?
SPEAKER_02 (00:31):
Yeah, thank you.
Thank you.
SPEAKER_01 (00:34):
So excited.
So Brad, tell us like how I knowyou're new CEO, but you've been
with the company forever.
Yep, about 25, almost 26 years.
And how how did they, you know,like how how does that work when
you're there for 25 years,you've probably done everything
in the company.
SPEAKER_03 (00:54):
Yep.
Yeah.
You know, I I was actuallyemployee number 12.
So I've wow.
And that was back when the youknow the family was there and
Doreen's father, Jerry.
Um, you know, so they heard athey needed a graphic designer.
That was my background.
That's what I did.
So I came in and I started.
Well, I was also a wedding DJand uh I did video karaoke.
(01:18):
So the extrovert person thatthey needed when they needed to
call you know somebody in tohelp tr with trade shows and
whatnot, so that's what I did.
So dial ahead, they're like, youknow what, we need a
salesperson.
He's an extrovert, he's goodwith people.
I mean, he can you know make atwo or three hundred person
wedding go.
Right.
Yeah, so that's how kind of howI started in sales.
SPEAKER_00 (01:40):
And I was gonna say, i it doing weddings, you were
probably used to a lot ofdifferent personalities, a lot
of alcohol, a lot of you neverknew what was gonna get thrown
at you.
SPEAKER_03 (01:50):
And you and you know, if you can make a bride
happy on her wedding day, uh youknow, yeah.
Yeah, you learn a lot from doingthat.
SPEAKER_00 (01:58):
That's it's so interesting because like I I
feel at in this day and age,like people just don't stick
with a company for a long time.
They're they're here for twoyears, they go someplace else,
and but you know, they're notcaptured.
SPEAKER_03 (02:10):
Some of it is you want to just keep broadening
your your portfolio of what youcan bring to the table to get to
the next level.
And you know, I've stood thetest of time at Otis.
You know, I worked under Doreen,who's you know, the the original
founder, and she's a beautifulperson, and I've known her for
well almost 26 years now.
And the person that um replacedDoreen, his name was Len, he was
(02:34):
a CFO, promoted to CEO, so thatreally gave me a broader
understanding of how the financeperk works in in the business.
And understanding margins andyou know, just the cash flow,
you know, that whole part of it.
And then after Len, Doreen'sbrother Larry came in, he's an
operations guy, it really pushedthe lean manufacturing
(02:54):
principles within theorganization, AS we're you know,
compliant to an AS ISO 9100standard, so which I would have
never learned that piece of thebusiness.
And then Bill, or yeah, Bill,who is our current CEO, who just
you know is is out a coupleweeks ago, he's an engineer.
So it really showed how data candrive a business and brought
(03:16):
that at so I've learned so manydifferent aspects of how a
business can run without havingto job shop every five to ten,
you know, seven years orwhatever.
SPEAKER_00 (03:24):
So well, and they gave you that growth pattern and
and celebrated it with you, youknow.
So you have to have that pathand a company that allows you to
come into your own.
SPEAKER_03 (03:33):
And I've so and then back in 2005, Doreen and her
sister Denise took me to lunchone day out of the blue, which
wasn't out of the blue, but theywere like, you want to go to
lunch and to lunch?
And they said, you know, our dadJerry, who's an icon in this
industry, everybody knows JerryWilliams, uh, they said, We want
you to take over for dad on thelaw enforcement and military
(03:54):
side of the business.
Okay, because I had been Jerry'sright hand for about a year, and
it was just we traveled welltogether, and um, so they asked
me to step in and take over forhim.
So that was kind of where Ifirst jumped into being
responsible for for the salespiece of the business.
So that's what I hope to bringto Otis at the next level is you
(04:14):
know, we're we're lean, we'reefficient, we do good things.
Uh-huh.
I can I have an eye on howsales, the sales process works.
So now I'm step in and drivesome revenue and capture the
market space.
SPEAKER_01 (04:26):
It's it's really cool that you uh firsthand uh
were taught in this industry allthe different you know aspects
of it, and now you can put it,you know, you can put it into
your style.
SPEAKER_03 (04:39):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (04:40):
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (04:41):
You know what the weird the I it was actually
started in November of 2024 whenthis process, Bill announced his
retirement, and the family had achance to think about what they
wanted to do next to hire theirnext CEO.
And when they asked me, it wassomething I never saw in myself.
I you know, I love sales.
I love it at SHOT Showyesterday.
(05:02):
I met with a whole bunch of mydifferent Poland and Guatemala
and all my these aren't justcustomers to me, they're
friends.
I've known them for so long anddone so much that uh, you know,
I I saw my I always saw myselfas just a salesperson until the
day that I retired.
And when somebody sees somethingyou don't really see in
yourself, you're almost me?
(05:23):
You you want me to and thecustomers and the partners and
the relationships I've made forthe last 25 years have come
because this is my 25th SHOTShow to take out COVID, and just
the people that have come to methat um you know, a a friend of
mine who worked at the StateDepartment now works for
Magpole, and he saw me when Iwas grabbing a cup of coffee and
(05:44):
he congratulated me, and it'slike it's just it's flattering
and it's humbling.
SPEAKER_00 (05:47):
Well, that's what I love about SHOT Show too, is
because it's like the only timeof year where you get to see
certain people like face to facebecause you're on the phone or
Zoom or email or whatever, butyou come to the show and then
you get to hang out in personand go grab a you know a bite
and all that stuff.
So that's a family reunion.
Oh, yeah, it absolutely is.
SPEAKER_03 (06:04):
It absolutely is.
It was like it was like, youknow, as you know, when you do
it, it can also be grueling bythe time you get to the end.
You know, so like the COVIDyear, people were having these
mixed emotions like no shot showthis year, could be a relief,
but man, I'm gonna miss it.
And then midway through, you'relike, man, this is kind of weird
not having a shot show, and thenit's all kind of a blur now.
SPEAKER_00 (06:27):
Yeah, it's it's a love-hate relationship because
like when you're in it, you'remeant you're like, man, this is
go, go, go, go, go.
Yeah, and then you're like, Ijust want to get out of here,
but then you look forward to ittoo.
SPEAKER_03 (06:36):
And then you always think about the shot show crud
on the back end, and everybodyalways gets something.
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (06:42):
Yeah, so uh what do you do to prepare for shot show?
From a health side or from youknow both.
SPEAKER_03 (06:50):
You know, so for me, you know, I always do the, you
know, reach out to all mycontacts, you know, swing by,
and you know, we always we havea reception today, but I always
like to tell people swing by,let's have a beer, you know,
catch up, talk about, you know,what's new, what what happened.
From a health side, I you know,I just try to make sure you get
the vitamin C in you, the zinc,and the you know, all the all
(07:12):
the things you you try to do tostay healthy, the hand
sanitizers and all.
SPEAKER_00 (07:16):
I sent Erica to the store.
I I was driving out here and Iwas like, Erica, I I forgot my
airborne.
Like I had like and I had likemy list of supplements and
things that I needed, like justto just to stay healthy
throughout the show.
SPEAKER_01 (07:29):
Yeah, I started I start a couple of weeks early
and start with the C's and theD's and the Bs, and then uh my
husband is an ER nurse and healso does home IVs.
So I pre-gamed it and he gave mean IV with a bunch of vitamins.
SPEAKER_00 (07:44):
He flew out last year and gave us IVs during the
show, and I was like, this isthe greatest thing that's ever
happened to me.
SPEAKER_03 (07:51):
So so last year was horrible.
My wife and I we planned a tripto Puerto Vallarta to Mexico the
week after SHOT Show.
I ended up getting COVID lastyear, the last day of the show.
So I had two or three days to,once I got home to recuperate,
well, as luck would have it, orunluck would have it, my wife
caught it as we were gettinginto Mexico.
(08:12):
So four days at an all-inclusionresort, she's just wiped out.
And yeah, so trying to avoidthat this year.
Don't do it.
SPEAKER_01 (08:21):
Lots of hand sanitizer, I feel like.
Yeah, washing the hands.
I try not to put my like there'sso many guns here that you just
want, you know, you're like soexcited and put it right up to
your face.
I try not to put guns to my faceanymore.
Like, there's there's a coupleof things that you have to take
into consideration.
Sure do.
Are you gonna, you know, whatare you gonna touch that uh a
(08:43):
thousand other people have thatmight have that cootie bug?
Yep, that's for sure.
SPEAKER_00 (08:48):
So what's your what's your firearms experience?
Like, what do you are are you ashooter, a hunter, a sportsman?
SPEAKER_03 (08:54):
Yep, so a little bit of everything.
I don't hunt as much as like myson, he's a big hunter, he loves
to hunt, bow, rifle.
I don't like being cold.
We're from upstate New York, andand I'm just I can appreciate
that.
I'm 50 now.
The days of me wanting to go outwhen the rain and the snow is
coming right sideways to hunt adeer is not my thing.
I love I love Canada goose, uhsnow goose hunting because you
(09:17):
don't need to be sitting quiet,you know, you just wait until
the guide, if you're if you'rehunting with a guide, says, you
know, birds, and you just kindof hunker in your blind until
it's time to get out and shoot.
I love pistol shooting, I lovetrap shooting, shot yeah,
probably pistol and uh shotgunare my favorite.
Okay.
But yeah, I it's just working inthis industry, you know, every
(09:39):
now and then you get this, hey,I want to send you something,
and you you find out thatsomebody sent you a firearm
because they want you to test itout and they appreciate your
opinion, and you know, they wantyou to have a piece of history
that you know, so all kinds ofthings, you know.
Otis owned a gun company DRD foruh for a couple of years, and
um, you know, so that's kind ofcool.
So, you know, look did a fewbuild home build AR builds and
(10:02):
stuff like that.
So, yeah.
And how often do you clean yourguns?
So on the spot here.
So so funny, so funny thing, youknow, it's you know, we we we
have an FFL at work with an SOT,and we you know, we've got
machine guns and everything, sowe and suppressors and all that
good stuff, even being in NewYork, so which is pretty neat
(10:25):
unique.
Yeah.
Um, but you know, we do, we youknow, we had you both met
Heather, you know, we have amarketing team in-house, video,
graphics, the whole everything.
So we always need dirty guns forvideo content and photo content.
So believe it or not, dirty gunsare a are uh are a are a value
at Otis if you can bring them inso they have you know content
(10:47):
with uh so bringing dirty guns.
Exactly.
So I so I make a point to neverclean my guns because they may
need them for videos.
SPEAKER_00 (10:54):
Need it for camera.
I know.
SPEAKER_03 (10:56):
That's awesome.
Isn't that awesome?
SPEAKER_00 (10:58):
Yeah, that's super cool.
I would take advantage of thattoo much.
SPEAKER_03 (11:02):
Absolutely.
Well, sometimes, you know, whenwe're we're we're always trying
to grow our portfolio ofchemicals and hardware and
stuff, so sometimes you thedirtier the better with what
depending on what you're tryingto you know to bring to market.
SPEAKER_01 (11:14):
I love that.
Yeah, and especially if youclean it like really good, I
feel like I would definitely ifI lived around you guys, I would
definitely drop all my guns off.
SPEAKER_03 (11:24):
Well, we actually we have a small hardware store
that's a you know a half an hourup the road.
And we do uh every year we do ayou know a session where people
can bring their firearms andthey show how to clean the
firearms and and wait foremployees or yeah, so we have
yeah, a few people from our likeour ins inside sales team.
It gives them experience.
Yeah, and uh yeah, so the peoplefrom the neighborhood will come
(11:47):
by with their firearms, cleanthem for them, and eventually
it's pushes them to go insideand buy the products.
But it's a it's a pretty neatthing that they're always like,
do you want to put this outthere?
SPEAKER_00 (11:56):
Like so many people are gonna be showing up.
SPEAKER_03 (11:59):
Yeah, yeah, it's a it's a pretty it's a pretty it's
a pretty unique thing that theydo.
SPEAKER_01 (12:04):
And is that like what when is that once a year?
SPEAKER_03 (12:07):
Yeah, like it's a once-a-year thing that they do.
They have like an open house,uh, yeah.
It's a hardware store that'sgot, you know, it's you know,
tons of firearms, ammunition,accessories.
Hardware.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (12:18):
I love it.
I wear guns.
Well, there's different parts ofthe country where it's like, you
know, guns, gas, your your baitfish, right?
Burritos.
You're like, hey, it's all inone place.
This is so cool.
Skins.
I remember.
SPEAKER_01 (12:36):
Deb Deb Ferns, the founder of uh Woma, she is um I
like we've taken severaladventures with her.
So um I'm I feel prettysheltered when it comes to
adventures as far as Deb Fern'sadventures.
And um, I had never met anybodylike her, but I never say no
(12:58):
because it's so such anadventure, like I don't want to
miss out, right?
And um, so we were driving likecross country, and she's like,
we stopped somewhere, and she'slike, Oh yeah, I stop here all
the time, and I'm like, uh, whatis this place?
It was a gas station, it waslike the the old, old gas
station.
And then you go inside and she'slike, Yeah, go inside and check
(13:20):
it out.
There's like skins on the wall,and there's like all these
things, and then they have umthey they have all this deep
fried food, and then out backthey um pour their their grease
out back, like their old greasethat they fry everything in.
SPEAKER_03 (13:37):
I've seen people take that grease and make
biodiesel people out of it.
That was big for a while.
SPEAKER_00 (13:41):
I can run a truck on it.
Only Deb.
SPEAKER_01 (13:44):
You can run a truck on it.
Oh god.
So, you know, Otis has been alongtime sponsor of She Never
Quit and Um The Walmart, and wereally appreciate that.
Um I I know that you talked toDeb a little bit before here,
um, just the culture of thecompany and how important that
is.
Yeah, and um, you know, itstarted, you know, by a female,
(14:08):
this company started with a16-year-old.
SPEAKER_03 (14:11):
And um, you know, is there something that you like
your heart or you know,something that uh so you know
for me I I quickly became fondof the the the message, the
passion, the industry, and youknow, I I owned a shotgun and a
22, uh Marlin Model 1622 and aSavage Stevens uh bolt action
(14:37):
shotgun.
That was that was it before Istarted working Yotis.
I've way more than that now, butthat was that was how I started.
And when uh I remember one day,you know, we had we had ordered
a bunch of the black uh softcases, and the tractor trailer
came to to drop them off.
Well, they opened up the gate,this the gay lord that they came
in had exploded on the truck,tort.
(14:59):
So all of a sudden the door goesup, uh Doreen knocks on the our
my door to my office and shesays, Hey, can you give us a
hand a minute?
We have to get these off thetruck so the truck can leave.
She was the first one on theback of that truck loading up
the boxes and picking everythingup, and I said, you know what?
A, I aspire to be that kind of aleader who's willing to be the
(15:22):
first one in, and I've alwayskind of led by that in my 25
years of managing differentteams that I have, and that's
the message that I'm gonna take,you know, forward, and just the
culture, and it just they theythey practice what they preach,
and I and I get behind thatevery day.
I think that's great.
SPEAKER_00 (15:39):
I mean, as far as and and leading by example, you
know, well, and I think it alsofilters down to the products
too, because you see stuffthat's really usable, that's
really functionable, um, youknow, that that serves a
purpose, that serves a need forthe community.
So it translates outside of thecompany.
SPEAKER_03 (15:57):
Well, you know, that's the nice thing about
everything being built inupstate New York, is you know, I
my my main background is sellingto the military, law
enforcement, and internationalcustomers.
I can tell you there were somany times you'd be talking to a
young soldier, a young Marine,and they'd be like, I really
need a piece that does this.
And I would go back, and wewould we would put it together.
(16:19):
And we had send samples, they'dtry it out.
You know, back then it was wewere fighting a war in two
countries, and all of a suddenbe finding we got an NSN on a
product because you've you founda need, you filled the need,
you're supporting the troops,you're doing what feels good,
and you know, you're buildingout products just because you're
doing the right thing.
SPEAKER_00 (16:40):
Right, it's it's beyond just trying to make a
buck, but actually trying toreally implement something
that's gonna be useful out inthe field.
SPEAKER_03 (16:46):
I've I've actually said that, you know, working
within the military, um, I haveprobably given away one kit for
every kit that I probably havesold in sales.
Yeah.
I I wouldn't I wouldn't doubtthat a bit.
But that's you know, thatgrassroots marketing that, you
know, the cost of a kit versusyou know dropping an ad in a
publication, it it just thatgrassroots marketing is is kind
(17:08):
of one of the foundations ofthis of what we do here.
SPEAKER_00 (17:11):
This has been so much so much fun for me because
I feel like I I mean I we'veworked with Otis for years and
years and years, but I didn'trealize some of this stuff like
internally, and so I've lovedlike Heather's stories and your
stories.
Like it's it's really cool whenyou think about it.
SPEAKER_03 (17:25):
So it's you know, I have a before my promotion two
weeks ago, three weeks ago.
SPEAKER_00 (17:30):
Was it really that?
SPEAKER_03 (17:31):
Oh my gosh! I mean it's been in the works for about
a year, but but yeah, the end ofthe the it was January 1 was the
official day.
Yeah, uh, you know, Nancy, um,she's my government contract
manager.
Great job.
She's been with the company like23 years-ish.
Uh, Greg is my government salesmanager, he's about 20.
I'm 25.
So in my department, we had youknow, we had like 70, 80 years
(17:55):
of knowledge, and you know, someit was easy to call us in and be
like, what do you guys thinkabout this?
It was like, we kind of wentdown this path about 10 years
ago.
I don't recommend it.
Uh-huh.
I mean things evolve and thingschange, but right, you know, you
just it's awesome to have thatthat much tribal knowledge in an
area, you know.
We've all sat in differentseats, we've done different
things, so you know, we bringthat, and we're all passionate
(18:18):
about they have both, they allhunt, they you know, so we're
not although we're on thegovernment side of the business,
you know, we're still usersevery day of the product, shop
in those stores.
That's the deal.
SPEAKER_00 (18:28):
You probably know more about each other and your
personal life.
Oh, for sure.
For sure, for sure.
SPEAKER_01 (18:34):
It's almost like you grew up together, right?
Yeah, without a doubt.
No hiding anything.
Oh, yeah, without without adoubt.
SPEAKER_03 (18:39):
Like, you know, I've I've watched, you know, so
actually I was, I mean, it'sfunny, you know, I did the
wedding stuff, but I also beingin graphics, photography was a
big thing.
I was uh I was the photographerat Nancy's wedding, and I so
Greg had a band and it uh hiswedding, and when the band was
done, I set up and finishedDJing his wedding.
(19:00):
So it was like, you know, yes,but yeah, very, very close-knit
company that we work for.
Everybody's very close.
Everybody's everybody's lookingout for one another, doing the
right thing.
And we're in a small communitywhere we are upstate in New York
too.
SPEAKER_00 (19:12):
Yeah.
So you can't hold back with eachother.
SPEAKER_01 (19:14):
No.
So if somebody is looking forproducts, where would they find
them?
SPEAKER_03 (19:19):
For our products?
Yes.
Oh, you know, we're obviouslythe big box stores, you know,
the Bass Pro shops of the world,Shields.
Um, but you know, we we we'vegot as much emphasis on working
with the small dealers, the momand pops, uh-huh.
You know, a lot of the a lot ofthe cop shops, the you know, the
the law enforcement focusedretail stores as well.
(19:40):
Um can they can they reach outto you by um OtisTech.com?
They can, yep, yep.
It's our website.
Um quick Google searches,everybody's using AI now as
well.
You can uh, you know, uh Heatherand her marketing team do a
really good job of being ofmaking sure that messaging goes
out and they're using it's waybeyond my like you know, I'll
(20:00):
use Chat GPT and copilot fromnow on to help craft the
messaging and things like that.
But they they're in the do.
They they're dialed in there.
That's what they do.
SPEAKER_01 (20:08):
Yeah, well, thank you so much for being on our
podcast.
We really appreciate it.
I appreciate it.
SPEAKER_03 (20:12):
This this is my very first podcast that I've ever
done.
I'm sure I'm sure it will not bemy last, but this is my first
one.
So I was like, I was tellingHeather, I'm like, so what do I
what do I say?
What do I do?
She's like, it'll come naturallyonce you start the conversation.
SPEAKER_00 (20:26):
Yeah, well thank you.
SPEAKER_01 (20:32):
Thank you for being such a great sponsor, also.
I mean we couldn't do it withoutyou.
SPEAKER_03 (20:37):
Yeah.
And I, you know, when I when Icome by and I see all the
activity that's going on herewith the Otis in the background,
and what you guys do, the it tosupport the shooters, the female
shooters, the it's outstanding.
And it's you know, it's the it'sthe it's a it's an important
piece to this whole thing, youknow, in youth sports, and I see
a lot of that in the few youknow with different companies as
(20:57):
well.
So it's awesome.
SPEAKER_01 (20:58):
Thank you.
Thank you.
Have a great show.
Thank you.
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