TIM DEUTSCH, PACE INTERNATIONAL
CEO Profile
CEO Profile: Tim Deutsch Taking an in-depth look at Deutsch's career path, progression, and achievements Tell us about your career path to becoming Executive Vice President of Sales at Pace International. My first job was in the warehouse at Pace International, during my high school summers, making coax cable jumpers – something we still do at Pace today. After graduating from the University of Minnesota (Go Gophers!) with degrees in Accounting and Finance, I worked in public accounting as a CPA at PwC for 4 years. I specialized in auditing private companies in a variety of industries, many being family-owned businesses. I knew I could use this experience at Pace someday and did exactly that when I started at Pace full time in 2012 as General Manager. As Pace has grown, my role has expanded to Executive Vice President, focusing on sales and operations. My accounting days are behind me, as my brother Eric oversees that. In 2023, along with Eric, we became third generation family owners of Pace. I am fortunate to have grown up watching and learning from great leaders. One of the best leaders I know is my dad. He is genuine and treats people well. Pat has led Pace through industry/market challenges and strategic growth, always having employees top of mind. Developing meaningful relationships with employees has always been his priority. Pace has numerous long tenured employees, many of whom have known me since I was a child. There are many ways to lead, but I try to lead like my dad and grandpa before him by being authentic, innovative, and treating people well. This has worked well for us as our employees have consistently voted us as one of the best places to work in Minnesota. What experiences have had a significant impact in shaping you as a leader? What changes in trends and needs within the distribution industry have you seen? The wholesale-distribution industry is $8 trillion and represents 1/3 of the U.S GDP. The industry employs over 6 million workers. It is a huge part of the economy. There has been some consolidation in the industry and many manufacturers are putting an emphasis on selling direct to the consumer. This poses some challenges for us, but also an opportunity to set us apart from the larger companies. With our size and being privately owned, we have more flexibility to quickly cater to our customers’ specific needs and truly add value to their businesses.
How has Pace evolved since its beginning in 1972 to meet those changes to the industry? Pace has been in Rochester for over 52 years, but few people know what Pace does, or that it even exists, because we do not do a lot of business in the Rochester area (yet). We started as a regional distributor of tube TV repair parts in 1972. Telecom products and technology have obviously changed substantially over the years and Pace has evolved with it. We are now a national distributor of various connectivity products (routers, switches, cables, satellite dishes, etc.). In addition to that, we have an industrial supplies division providing tools, MRO, safety, and installation equipment to Fortune 500 companies across North America. We continue to diversify and find innovative solutions to meet our customers’ needs. As you look ahead to the future, what do you see as the outlook for the distribution industry as well as for Pace? The way customers interact and transact will continue to change. We’ve seen retail transactions shift to more digital, online, and self-service options. The same shift is happening for wholesale-distribution B2B sales. Pace will continue to lead and adapt, so our customers can do business with us in the ways they want. We have expanded our digital team and resources and will continue to innovate while maintaining the personal relationships and top-tier customer service we are known for. You may also see an increased focus from Pace to provide our wide range of products and services to businesses in the Rochester area.
To read more about Pace International, visit www.paceintl.com/about-us
22 | ROCHESTER AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ADVANTAGE MAGAZINE — OCTOBER 2024
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