Biography
Tim Fischer is a seasoned C-level executive who has experience running businesses across multiple industries, has extensive M&A experience and is very involved in the local business community.
A Boston native, Fischer graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a BS in Mathematics. After graduation he received his MBA in Finance from Loyola University of Chicago before starting his career at PaineWebber, where he served as the firm’s youngest Operations Manager at their Schaumburg, IL branch.
After 2+ years at PaineWebber, Fischer and his college roommate started a dialup Internet Service Provider (ISP) and partnered up with an investor group out of Chicago, Jordan Industries, and this is where he started his M&A career. Fischer and his roommate grew the business to become the 2nd largest privately held ISP in the country with more than 100,000 subscribers thru 25 acquisitions in 28 months. After consolidating the 25 businesses (billing platforms, networks, call centers, etc.) they continued to operate the business and grew it to annual sales of $20M+. In 2003 they orchestrated a successful sale of the business to a Colorado based investment group, Republic Financial Corporation.
Fischer remained at Republic Financial for 12+ years helping in the transition of the ISP initially and then serving as Senior Managing Director, where he worked directly with the management teams and industry experts for 10 of their portfolio companies. The portfolio was very diverse in geography as well as industry with the common thread being ‘opportunistic investments’. The company’s ranged from a garbage truck manufacturer in Kentucky, a stainless steel distributor in Pennsylvania, a grey iron foundry in Michigan to a promotional products company in Kansas. In that position, he played an active role in the growth of each business where his focus was on strategy and operational improvements. He played an integral role in the eventual sale of the portfolio companies he managed, which included eventual sales of the businesses to the likes of large publicly traded firms (Staples, Navistar), PE firms and industry strategics. Fischer eventually took over as CEO of one of the portfolio companies in late 2015, Central Florida based Vac-Tron Equipment, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of vacuum excavation equipment.
During his three years as the CEO, Vac-Tron saw its business more than double in size, growing the business from $15M in revenue to $37M by the end of 2018 with industry leading profitability levels. As CEO he helped professionalize the business and implemented numerous processes to ensure a stabile foundation for subsequent growth. After seeing its marketshare grow from 16% to 39%, the company’s largest dealer, Vermeer Manufacturing, approached the business and acquired it in 2018. For the next two years he served as General Manager of the Florida location, which was the most profitable location under the corporate umbrella as he aided in the transition of the business to the new ownership group.
In January 2021, Fischer partnered with Winter Park, FL based investment group, Broadcrest and co-invested alongside in an acquisition of Southeast Elevator where he serves as CEO. Southeast Elevator manufactures, installs and services in-home elevators for new home construction projects along with home renovations. During his tenure the business has grown organically and through the addition of 7 acquisitions to the company to make it the largest in the state of Florida, while expanding its geographic footprint throughout Florida and now into North and South Carolina and Texas. In addition, Fischer serves as CEO of Southeast Elevator’s sister company, ADA Lift Rentals of America, where the company provides temporary wheelchair lift rentals to major sporting events (PGA Tour, Super Bowls, Formula1, etc.) and music festivals (Lollapalooza, CMA, etc.) across North America. During his tenure the company has grown from doing 80 events per year to 180+ events as the company has expanded its product offering.
Fischer is very active in the Central Florida manufacturing community where he sat on the Board of Directors for the Manufacturing Association of Central Florida (MACF) for seven years, and the Treasure Coast Manufacturing Association (TCMA) and has played an active role in bringing local manufactures together with local educational institutions to foster long term partnerships. He currently sits on the Advisory Council for the Welding program at Indian River State College and the Advisory Board for the Advanced Manufacturing Program at St. Lucie County Schools. In addition, he serves on the Board for a local Winter Park community bank, Commerce Bank & Trust.