42          RETAILER HALL OF FAME 2026
Continued on page 44
Greenberg’s has several employees who have been 
with the company for decades. 
Brian Maas, the director of operations, has worked 
at Greenberg’s for 18 years but says he still feels like 
one of the newest employees.
He says the company’s high retention rate is the product of 
treating people fairly and paying them well, giving employees no 
reason to look elsewhere. 
“I think everyone feels appreciated for the job they do,” he says. 
“They’re allowed to do their job and if they need help, someone’s 
there to help them.”
Maas has three decades of experience in the jewelry industry. 
Previously, he worked at Sterling Jewelers, the U.S. subsidiary  
of Signet Jewelers, which owns Kay Jewelers, Zales, and Jared, 
among others. 
He then worked for an Indianapolis-based family-owned retailer 
until it was bought and he decided to 
move on.
At the time, the 
Maas family had four 
young children and was 
established in  
Indianapolis, and  
moving was a big con-
sideration. He originally 
declined the interview 
with Greenberg’s but 
was persuaded to fly out  
and give it a chance. 
“I met with Elise and 
Amy and [Amy’s husband] 
Scott, and once I met them, it was a no-brainer,” he says.
The Maas family relocated to Omaha, Nebraska, 
the midpoint in the Greenberg’s chain of stores.
“When I came to Greenberg’s, I really had an 
opportunity to do what I believed in, which was great customer 
service, great quality of merchandise, and that fit in with [what] 
Greenberg’s was already doing.”
Maas says the store does business “the old-fashioned way,” which 
is to say they mail thank you cards and call customers on their birth-
days, little extras that fall under the heading of the essential practice 
of clienteling.  
They also stick to their values.
He often thinks about a moment from one of the team’s weekly 
executive meetings. 
They were discussing how to handle a problem or question with a 
client and Elise asked, “What is the right thing to do?”
“That really stuck with me … 
They want to do the right thing,” 
Maas says.
SERVICE THAT GOES  
BEYOND
Jeff Paultz, Greenberg’s 
sales manager, has been with 
the store for 40 years, and he’s 
witnessed the evolution of the 
business over the years. 
Members of the Greenberg’s Jewelers 
team at the 2026 Purple Heart Soirée, 
a charity event for the Iowa Chapter of 
the Alzheimer’s Association
Greenberg’s Jewelers Sioux 
City, Iowa, store, built in 2020
AMY AND ELISE 
GREENBERG
2026
Inductees

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