Leadership - The Arcticom Group

The Arcticom Group leadership team consists of experienced and successful senior executives, each of whom have proven track records with market-leading, customer-centric businesses.

Jim Pape

Chief Executive Officer

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Rob Williams

Chief Financial Officer

Michael R. Bruno

Chief People Officer

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Chris Dembski

Chief Strategy Officer

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Adam Knutz

Regional President, RUI

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Dean Gabriele

President, CT Control Temp, CTR Refrigeration, IHM Mechanical

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Scott Tracy

President, Chiller Systems Service

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Justin Cockle

Vice President, Service

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Sarah Hall

Vice President, Sales & Account Management

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Jim Pape

Chief Executive Officer

In his leadership role, he spearheads the organization’s mission to provide the highest-quality customer experience for the design, installation, and maintenance of refrigeration and HVAC systems, focused on customers who have mission-critical refrigeration needs.

Jim has a track record for delivering growth and profitability in complex multi-channel markets and has successfully led businesses ranging from early stage start-ups to large mature industrial brands. He is a purpose-driven leader who has succeeded in concentrated ownership (PE & VC) models and as an officer in a large, public company. Jim is an employee enabler with a history of building high performing, customer centric teams who have endured to make lasting impacts on their organization’s success.

His passion for the mechanical services sector grew from his time as an area general manager with Johnson Controls, and then during his time as the leader of North American distribution for Trane Commercial Systems/Hussmann. Jim also played key roles as the industrial division president of the world’s fastest growing filtration company, Filtration Group Corp. He was the president of the residential and industrial divisions of SunPower Corporation and the passionate CEO of the landmark Silicon Valley based grid scale energy storage start-up, EnerVault.

Jim’s career began in the military and commercial aerospace markets where he was employed by Bearing Inspection Incorporated and AlliedSignal Aerospace. Jim received a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington. He and his family live in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Michael R. Bruno

Chief People Officer

Michael oversees The Arcticom Group’s human capital strategy, safety and communications. Bruno is an established, forward-thinking, strategic human resource leader with a successful track record of influencing senior leadership decision-making and delivering on key business objectives in both the public and private setting. He is credible business partner who motivates a team to deliver on stretch goals, specializing in talent development, organizational effectiveness and performance management/development. He also serves as both the 401k and Benefit Administrator for the enterprise.

Michael has 25+ years of experience supporting global U.S. Fortune 250 companies in various industries. Prior to joining TAG, Michael held HR leadership positions of increasing scope at Air Products & Chemicals and Johnson Controls, Inc. Michael earned a B.S. from Bloomsburg University and his M.S.A from West Chester University, he also achieved his Senior Professional Human Resources (SPHR) designation. Michael resides in Northern California (East Bay) and enjoys spending quality time with his family and friends.

Chris Dembski

Chief Strategy Officer

Chris is responsible for all business development activities including the acquisition and successful onboarding of newly acquired companies into the TAG family of companies.

Prior to joining The Arcticom Group, Chris spent 5 years at Grainger. He began his career at Grainger in the Financial Development Program, a two-year rotational leadership program, where he held roles in FP&A, Internal Audit, and International. Upon completion of this program, he was promoted to support Grainger US gross profit and pricing transformation. In this role, he was responsible for revenue, volume, and margin planning for the $8B business during a time of unprecedented price deflation. He partnered with executive leadership and Investor Relations to provide strategic direction and context for board meetings, quarterly earnings releases, and external leadership presentations. He was then promoted to lead a team of five supporting all inside and outside direct sellers where he was responsible for volume planning, analysis, and operating expense forecasting for $5.5B in revenue and $350M in expense. During this time, he took on additional responsibility to lead the strategy and development pillars for the Financial Development Program.

Chris attended the University of Dayton earning a bachelor’s degree in Accounting and an MBA.

Adam Knutz

Regional President, RUI

Adam is a committed leader who inspires his team to collaborate, listen and lead while achieving impressive results. For the past 15 years, Adam has owned and operated Refrigeration Unlimited (RUI), a business with a presence in seven states. He has enjoyed consistent success serving the HVACR industry as a leader, colleague and trusted industry partner.

In 2018, Adam brought RUI to join the private equity realm as part of The Arcticom Group (TAG). Adam oversees RUI and has assumed additional leadership responsibilities as companies join the TAG family. His track record reflects phenomenal year-over-year growth, and his drive to be best in class continues.

Adam makes it a priority to foster quality, sustainable relationships because he believes that the business is about serving people and that his success would not be possible without cultivating a foundation of first-class teammates.

Adam holds a degree in engineering and has a passion for all things mechanical.

Dean Gabriele

President, CT Control Temp,
CTR Refrigeration, IHM Mechanical

Dean Gabriele oversees and provides leadership to the Canadian companies that are part of The Arcticom Group (TAG). A valued team member with 34 years of experience, he brings a unique perspective to TAG’s business operations in the Canadian market.

Starting in the industry as a refrigeration apprentice at CT Control Temp in 1988, Dean steadily advanced through a variety of roles including: refrigeration technician, refrigeration foreman – running supermarket installation crews – project manager, vice president and ultimately into the role of president. Additionally, he was a proud pioneer of Transcritical CO₂ refrigeration systems.

Dean’s interest in the field originated with his father, Dino, who started working in the supermarket refrigeration industry in 1966 and went on to acquire CT Control Temp when it was a small company with six employees. In the 32 years that the Gabriele family has operated CT Control Temp, CTR Refrigeration and IHM Mechanical, the company has grown to 200 employees in British Columbia and Alberta, Canada. Over this time, Dean has found that the most rewarding aspect of his work is watching employees and colleagues develop their personal and professional skills throughout their careers.

Dean and his wife have been married for over 30 years. They have two daughters and three dogs. In his leisure time, Dean enjoys scuba diving and salmon fishing.

R. Scott Tracy

President, Chiller Systems Service

With over 45 years of experience in the field, R. Scott Tracy leads an intergenerational team of administrators and technicians at Chiller Systems Service (CSS) – an industry leading provider for commercial and industrial HVAC retrofit solutions in Colorado and its neighboring states.

Since founding CSS in 1997 with Annette Hogan-Tracy, Scott has established a refined service model and reputation for delivering unique, effective, and collaborative solutions for adapting, maintaining and retrofitting existing HVAC Systems; improving indoor air quality, and exploring new technologies.

Scott is a national leader in the HVAC industry. He is a board member of the ICE Group, past president of the MSCA local chapter of service companies in the Denver area and a proud member of a Vistage CEO group.

When he’s not working, Scott loves spending time with his family and cycling (road and mountain) along the streets and trails of Colorado.

Justin Cockle

Vice President, Service

Justin leads efforts that enhance and strengthen our customer experience and service performance. He works closely with our service teams to create an environment that fosters professional growth, technician excellence, and process efficiencies, from customer request to job completion.

Customer satisfaction is Justin’s top priority. He understands our customers’ complex requirements and translates this knowledge into standards, which our field teams implement to meet — and exceed — our customers’ expectations.

A highly effective leader, Justin has over 20 years of customer-focused operations experience and consistent success in achieving revenue targets and improving margins. His strong leadership abilities with large teams improve process flow, profitability, and customer satisfaction. Justin excels at encouraging teamwork and solution-oriented thinking as well as developing talent and mentoring employees.

Before joining TAG, Justin was an owner-operator of KIC Refrigeration, a full-service refrigeration and HVAC provider in Southern California. Prior to launching KIC Refrigeration, Justin was responsible for supervising large service teams in California and nationwide. He led field teams with more than 250 field technicians, along with office staff, who supported over 1,000 team members and consistently delivered safety, efficiency, and profitable results.
Justin achieved the highest levels of his profession as a service technician during his early years in the industry. He is LEAN Enterprise certified and has participated in multiple leadership development training programs.

Sarah Hall

Vice President, Sales and Account Management

Sarah works with the operating companies of The Arcticom Group (TAG) on business development strategy and strategic account plans for service and construction. She leads several key companywide account teams and the sales team in all requests for service proposals. Sarah guides the alignment of account team efforts across TAG and is also responsible for new customer acquisition.

A proven and dedicated team builder, Sarah has more than 15 years of account management experience in the HVACR industry. She prides herself on having learned to work “the customer way,” combining a small-business sense of accountability with the resources and support of a large corporation.

Prior to joining TAG, Sarah served as controller and director of account management for PMC-Southwest where she helped lead the company’s expansion from Northern California into Southern California and Nevada. During her time at PMC-Southwest, she discovered her passion for the sales and service side of the industry.

Sarah’s background in accounting and operations gives her a unique perspective and understanding of both sides of the business. This also contributes to her strength and skill in sales and business development.

Sarah lives in Northern California with her two daughters.