7 minute read
Devina Zalesky
DEVINA ZALESKY
AMBITIOUS. DETERMINED. DRIVEN.
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Devina Zalesky is best known as the president of Allwest Insurance Services Ltd., a leading auto, home and business brokerage chain which she acquired and grew with her husband, Paul Zalesky. The company has deep relationships in the Vancouver area and in BC and has grown significantly since it was established over 50 years ago. Grateful for all of their success, both Paul and Devina strongly believe in the “give back” idea and have started their own philanthropy program, donating to and supporting several organizations and causes each year, such as the recent first annual Canuck Place Childrens’ Hospice Classic Car Fund Raiser.
Devina was born in Fiji, the Melanesian archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean. The economy of the islands is based primarily on tourism and agriculture, and her father, a rice farmer, worked hard to make a living for his family of five. The situation got even worse when in the early 1970s a devastating storm made landfall in Fiji, hitting the island nation with monstrous peak sustained winds. Not only was it one of the strongest tropical cyclones anywhere on earth since the modern era of global records, but it also caused widespread damage across the island and wiped out entire villages. It also destroyed Devina’s family farm, leaving them behind with almost nothing. Like many others, they made the decision to leave, and so, in 1972, her family immigrated to Canada.
Immigration is never easy, especially when coming from such a different cultural and economical background. Many struggle dealing with this transition, and being the eldest of three children, Devina suddenly saw herself in the position of a provider for the family, supporting her mother and father in making enough money to pay for rent, utility bills and food. Long working days and hard work became her daily routine and by grade eight, Devina was working two jobs. She would start at 6am, opening up at a local restaurant, where she would work until she had to leave for school. Then, at lunchtime when the rest of her fellow students were enjoying a break, playing in the schoolyard, Devina would run all the way home to prepare the dinner for her mother and brothers in the little time left before she had to be back to school for her afternoon classes. Her day wouldn’t end when school was over as she had to join her mother at her second job at a cleaning company.
With that ambitious mindset and after having finished school, Devina set out to follow a dream that she had since she and her family had boarded the plane to come to Canada – to become a flight attendant. She started taking courses throughout high school with Pacific Western Airlines and, upon graduation, received the certification to take to the friendly skies. Unfortunately, as a flight attendant had to be 21 years old to serve alcohol on board, 18-year-old Devina would have had to wait more than 2 years before she would be allowed to welcome and host travellers on their journey. Disappointed but not discouraged, she realized that she needed a ‘Plan B’ and luck was on her side.
She went back to her high school business teacher, Mr John Adams, who had previously offered her a position with his father’s insurance agency. Devina had initially turned down his offer, thinking she was better suited to be a flight attendant, but facing years before she could start at the airline, she decided to join the insurance industry in 1981. The rest, as they say, is history.
Always pushing herself to learn as much as fast as she can, Devina quickly climbed the ladder in the insurance company. “My first account was Mercedes-Benz of Canada,” she recalls. “It was New Year’s Eve and their salesman needed license plates and insurance for an important client, the owner of a restaurant. S I headed out but I had to wait until after midnight to get the transaction done. It is this type of service that makes the difference, and Mercedes-Benz continues to be a major client to this day!”
After two years with the family-owned insurance agency, she felt she had reached as high as she could. She knew that she had bigger dreams and higher aspirations, and so she thanked her former teacher for the opportunity and followed an offer from Brian Coyle Insurance Agencies, which later became Allwest Insurance. It was a new chapter in her life, both in business and privately.
“I met Paul in the summer of 1985,” Devina remembers with a smile on her face. “He was standing outside his office when I walked by, and we started chatting.” Quite obviously, it didn’t stop there as the two got married in Maui on New Year’s Eve in 1987. Their family became complete with two sons born three years apart. They are a tight-knit family and support each other through the trials and tribulations of life. And there was quite a series of interludes waiting for them.
The power couple quickly grew their insurance company, rarely taking time off. “I was in our boardroom when I went into labour with our first son, and it didn’t take long before I headed back to the office with baby Stefan in tow,” she laughs.
Finally, in 2007, they booked a well-deserved vacation with their children in Italy – and tragedy struck. Sitting on a window sill, Devina slipped and fell six metres to the ground, barely stopped by a palm tree. “They had to airlift me to a hospital in Switzerland, where I faced eight hours of surgery.” Luckily, she made a full recovery, but more devastating news was just around the corner.
In 2008, Devina was diagnosed with breast cancer. She endured multiple surgeries, and more than 60 sessions of radiation, but few knew the battle she was fighting and being the determined person she is, she never missed a single day at the office.
“I went for radiation every single day,” she looks back. “Always dressed in my suit, always going back to work right after.”
Although she was exhausted by the end of each day, she never missed a day of work and few knew the battle she was fighting. Luckily, she was one of the fortunate ones and was soon in remission.
Devina will be the first to point out that every day presents its own set of unique challenges, but believes that no challenge is too great to overcome. As she says, “It is the essence of my life!”
With Devina’s drive, she continued on her path to making Allwest Insurance one of the largest ICBC Autoplan Agencies in British Columbia. With her leadership and devotion to the company, she succeeded. She has done so with heart, compassion and the ability to take charge in any situation.