Polisseni played key role in the success of Paychex

Kathryn Quinn Thomas//May 25, 2001//

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Eugene Polisseni, 61, known for his enthusiastic and creative approach to business, died of cancer on Monday. Polisseni was senior vice president of Paychex Inc., and had worked for the company since 1977.
Mr. Polisseni’s Paychex career began when Thomas Golisano, chairman, president and CEO of the firm, talked him into making a $3,000 investment in a Cincinnati franchise for the then-fledgling firm.
The franchise, however, was not the first time the Irondequoit natives collaborated and it was not the last.
“Actually Gene worked for me long before the franchise,” Golisano said. “He used to bring me lunch to my office, when I couldn’t afford it.”
The duo actually was part of a trio. In high school, Golisano, Mr. Polisseni and Gary Muxworthy were close friends. Muxworthy, founder and owner of Muxworthy’s Ski Loft & Outdoor Furniture in Pittsford, was Paychex’s first customer.
Mr. Polisseni’s first business venture was at age 13 when he and friend Muxworthy rounded up investors to equip Mr. Polisseni’s sister’s backyard as a hockey rink. They then formed a neighborhood league.
“Gene was always a solid guy, always knew how to get people motivated to get things done,” Muxworthy told the Roches-ter Business Journal in an interview for a profile on Mr. Polisseni in 1995. “That magnetism in his personality, his way of staying calm and keeping everyone else calm, showed even then.”
Mr. Polisseni founded the now-defunct Eastway Tire Distributors in the 1970s, following a stint as production manager for Tire World Inc. His resume also lists serving as a production manager for Xerox Corp. and as a salesman, then sales manager for St. Johnsbury Trucking Co.
After building the Paychex franchise in Cincinnati, Mr. Polisseni returned to Rochester and went on to develop products that have helped Paychex become a nationally recognized company.
“Paychex was a great environment for Gene,” Golisano said. “He was able to act on his ideas and all to our benefit.”
Paychex’s human resources services line, for example, with sales of $100 million and an expected 33 percent annual growth, was Mr. Polisseni’s creation, Golisano said.
Thanks to Mr. Polisseni’s efforts, Golisano added, Paychex can offer its clients products such as handbooks, 401(k) record-keeping systems, hiring tools, interviewing techniques, in-house employee training programs, telemarketing, and advertising and typesetting services.
In the Rochester Business Journal profile, Mr. Polisseni defined his method for creating products and lines of business as something not strictly textbook.
“Entrepreneurship is a gut operation, not a matter of statistical analysis,” he said. “It’s a lot more fun.”
The first in his family to graduate from high school, Mr. Polisseni was the youngest of five children born to an Italian immigrant father and small town-raised mother. He earned an associate’s degree in management and marketing from SUNY Agricultural and Technical College at Delhi.
Mr. Polisseni founded the Irondequoit Vikings of the Western New York Pop Warner Football Conference, the Irondequoit Hockey League and was co-founder of the Rochester Metro Hockey League for amateur adult players.
An active member of the local community, Mr. Polisseni served on the boards of St. Joseph’s Villa and St. John Fisher College, as well as on the board of his alma mater.
“Gene was extremely supportive of the college and its programs,” said Charles Constantino, chairman of St. John Fisher’s board of trustees and executive vice president of Par Technology Corp. Inc. in Oneida County. “Not only that, though, he brought his business insight, his out-of-the-box thinking to the academic community.”
“Gene Polisseni was a dedicated trustee and friend of Fisher,” added Katherine Keough, president of the college. “His drive and his heart will be sorely missed.”
Mr. Polisseni is survived by Wanda, his wife of 40 years; three children; five grandchildren; a brother and two sisters. A daughter, Kimberly Marie, and a brother, Carl, predeceased him.
Funeral services were held on May 25. The family has asked that any contributions in Mr. Polisseni’s name be made to American Red Cross, Greater Rochester Chapter, Box 30140, Rochester, 14603; or the Kidney Foundation of Upstate New York Inc., 3300 Monroe Ave., Rochester, 14618.