Pax8’s New CEO Scott Chasin On Innovation, Marketplace And Pax8’s Next Chapter

‘We're pretty comfortable with the vision of where we're taking this. We truly believe that we will continue to lead the market if we just stay focused, we execute and we listen to our partners and deliver the value that they're asking for, and that's exactly what we're going to do,’ says Pax8 CEO Scott Chasin.

Scott Chasin said Pax8’s number one goal is to bring continuous value to its partners as a technology-enabled marketplace with a “massive roadmap of opportunity.”

“We're not going to slow down in terms of continuing to invest in the future where we're going to take this marketplace,” Chasin, Pax8’s new CEO, told CRN in an exclusive interview.

Chasin was tapped as the Denver-based cloud distributor’s newest CEO Wednesday as founder and former CEO John Street steps back and continues as chairman of the board.

The new CEO joined Pax8 in 2021 as CTO and has been the backbone and visionary of the company’s revamped cloud marketplace that was unveiled at Pax8’s inaugural Beyond conference last year.

“We're pretty comfortable with the vision of where we're taking this,” Chasin said. “We truly believe that we will continue to lead the market if we just stay focused, we execute and we listen to our partners and deliver the value that they're asking for, and that's exactly what we're going to do.”

As for the new role, he said he’s humbled, honored and excited about the opportunity.

“I do have the drive and we've got a lot of work to do,” he said. “It is powerful to have a team that is aligned, that is at the top of their game and they can execute with you. When you're on a mission and you're on it together there's no summit that you can't reach.”

As for what’s to come for the next chapter of Pax8, he said the goal is to make the company profitable, deliver on the value for partners and innovate on the future of the cloud marketplace.

“For us, it's heads down,” he said. “Let's keep on delivering what we've been delivering and let's drive the differentiation through technology and innovation. The old model doesn’t work anymore, so the opportunity is here to paint the picture of the future and actually deliver it, and that's what we're going to do.”

CRN spoke further with Chasin about what he’s focusing on first, the cloud marketplace, Pax8’s upcoming Beyond conference and more.

What are some initial tasks you plan on tackling?

Everything, in terms of running the business. We have a massive event coming up in June. This is our second Beyond [conference] and this one is going to blow the first one out of the water. We've also announced Beyond Berlin in October, so we're taking it to Europe. It is going to be, I think, the best show for managed service providers, not only in June and in October in Berlin, but for a long time. The energy, the buzz, the networking, the announcements, the innovation and of course the entertainment is going to be spectacular. The team is pretty heads down on Beyond. We are also a super grower and continue to tackle the total addressable market. So it's a combination of focusing on the near term things, like Beyond, and then the outer horizons on executing an innovative product roadmap that we think is going to add value to our MSP partners for years to come.

Does a new CEO impact the structure of the company? Are there any other changes coming?

No, you’re not going to see anything that's material in terms of structure. We've been working on building this team for a few years now and this is really the start of that next chapter to drive the focus into the innovation, to leverage the market share we have and to continue to create value for our partners. We've got the structure, we've got the management team, there's a couple of small additions that we'll be announcing but overall the core team is in place.

Does Pax8 plan on having any more layoffs this year?

No, there's no plans for additional layoffs. Our plan is to get profitable and we're close. This is an opportunity for us. We've invested a lot in R&D over the last three years and this is going to be not only at Beyond, but beyond Beyond an opportunity to really showcase a lot of the results of that R&D. We're not going to slow down in terms of continuing to invest in the future where we're going to take this marketplace. That is part of the DNA that's always been there in this new chapter that we're really going to highlight. It's innovation, it's data, its AI, it's a continuous value creation cycle for our partners and it’s to build a marketplace for the future. We're excited about this year in terms of the events, in terms of the announcements, the innovation and to get Pax8 profitable. This is the year of profitability for Pax8.

In an internal email from former CEO John Street about Pax8 layoffs, John said, “the trajectory of Pax8 is only upward.” As the new CEO how will you deliver on that promise?

It's through listening to our partners, understanding their needs and delivering value to them. And we believe that technology and innovation is how we're going to do it. Our partners live in a world of scarcity. It’s scarcity of resource, budget and humans. We see a massive roadmap of opportunity to address that scarcity with efficiency and automation all focused on commerce and a focus to help them grow.

We keep hammering this message, and it’s a first principle for Pax8, their growth is our growth. This is why Pax8 Academy has been so successful, this is why Beyond is successful, we really mean it and we believe it. It's all about how do we make our partners more money, how do we save them money and how do we reduce the risk. That is, of course, the universal guidebook for any business but it's something we're passionate about in terms of how we can deliver value that addresses that for our partners day in and day out.

I know you don’t like the word distributor, but is Pax8 becoming more of a technology company than a distributor?

Marketplace, we don’t like that word mainly because it simply represents the past. I don't think it's an accurate reflection of the needs of what partners want today. A marketplace is about relationships and understanding the lifecycle of those relationships, whether it's a customer, a vendor or a partner. There is a massive opportunity to innovate the future of marketplaces. We have a pretty good idea and a really interesting roadmap that takes us out years in terms of value creation for both our partners and Pax8. Our number one goal is to bring continuous value to our partners but do so as a technology-enabled marketplace.

When will the revamped cloud marketplace be available for general availability?

You're going to see and hear all about that at Beyond.

Is the innovation that’s happening at Pax8 the dawn of the new cloud marketplace era? Would you call it that?

I would call it that. Part of our challenge is educating the market on what is a marketplace. We think the marketplace of the future is about data and AI. It’s the ability to solve the scarcity needs of our partners and drive solution consumption efficiently as well as, ultimately, manage those relationships that are critical to their business. It enables their growth as well as the ability to manage risk. There's work to do on what is a marketplace and what is the marketplace in the future. But I can tell you that at Beyond you're going to see a glimpse of it and it is going to be coming out to our partners very, very soon.

What else can you tease about Pax8 Beyond?

Not much. The biggest thing that we can do for Beyond is get the [Denver] Nuggets another championship.

What is your strategy on staying ahead of the competition like TD Synnex and Ingram Micro?

I'm going to answer it this way, we have our heads down. We have a pretty innovative roadmap, that's our number one priority. We believe that if we execute and we take care of our partners, that's all we need. In terms of how do we keep ahead, it's execution, it's the mountain climb. It’s being true to our partners’ needs and executing this roadmap that we've been working with our partners on for years now. We're pretty comfortable with the vision of where we're taking this. We truly believe that we will continue to lead the market if we just stay focused, we execute and we listen to our partners and deliver the value that they're asking for, and that's exactly what we're going to do.

How will Pax8 further gain market share from competitors?

I'll point back to the addressable market, it's massive. When you think about the SMB opportunity alone, it's not about share shift, it's not about stealing market share, it's about earning it. It's about going out and delivering the value where it comes to you, and that's our focus. We honestly believe that the world needs what we're building which is a modern business built in the cloud. And we're there, we've got it today. Our focus though is how do we keep delivering, how do we create this innovation engine on top of this amazing value proposition that we already have. For us, it's heads down. Let's keep on delivering what we've been delivering and let's drive the differentiation through technology and innovation. The old model doesn’t work anymore, so the opportunity is here to paint the picture of the future and actually deliver it, and that's what we're going to do.

As CEO, what is your M&A strategy?

We're always interested in opportunities that are out there and if we see something we like we’ll look at it. You can look at Pax8’s acquisitive nature, historically, as an indicator of where we're going to be in the future. This is an industry that consolidates, it has been for a while. There's lots of opportunity out there and the market will dictate a lot of those moments. As opportunities surface, we’ll be there and the past is probably a good indicator of future opportunities.

What's your strategy on adding more vendors to the marketplace?

We have a big strategy around that and this is something that once we get beyond Beyond, I want to share some of our thinking around that. It's part automation and it's part innovation. I can't divulge too much more but it's a fascinating opportunity for us and one that I think really paints the fuller picture of what the marketplace of the future is going to be about.

How would you describe yourself as a leader?

Determined, and I lead with a lot of passion. I have a philosophy around, I call it, passion engineering, where we all have tanks, these reservoirs, that can be filled up with passion. They're finite so they can also be drained pretty quickly, some people call it burnout. As a leader, it's our job to understand each member of your team and how to fill that reservoir back up. For the most part, inspiration and creating the vision to drive the mission refills the tank. I use vision a lot to paint the picture of what's on the mountaintop and then just the grit and determination to get it done. For me, a lot of the leadership and business acumen that I've gotten is from [John Street]. Throughout my career, I've had an amazing mentor that I've been lucky enough, from age 23 to 53, to be able to learn from and have a front row seat, and not only front row seat but in the trenches with them. I'd say John and I share a lot of those same qualities because of that relationship throughout the last 30 years.

What is your message to partners, both MSPs and vendors, going forward as new CEO and what does that next chapter entail for Pax8?

You ain’t seen nothing yet. We’re committed to our partners and to continue to deliver the value. We’re going to do whatever it takes to help them grow, to help them save money and reduce risk, that’s in our DNA. We’re going to use tech and we’re going to innovate our way to even more value creation. This is a new chapter and it’s one that says we’re going to get really serious about how technology, including data and AI, is going to impact their growth. We are the marketplace of the future.