What would you tell an up and coming executive about the difficulties in running a successful business?
Answer: Make sure you hire staff that have great skills and a passion for the both the mission of your organization or business, and be realistic about your goals and objectives for your business.

How would you describe your company’s culture to a new employee?
Answer: Long Island Cares’ culture is one of caring, understanding, innovation and collaboration. We have no interest or time in being competitive with anyone else.

Do current events influence how your company conducts business?
Answer: Absolutely, we’re in the business of providing food, companion services and support to people experiencing food insecurity so events such as unemployment, poverty, catastrophic illness, natural disasters, and a poor economy can affect how we are able to respond to the needs of our communities.

In terms of style describe how you manage?
Answer: I have an inclusive style of management where I seek input from my administrative staff and others when formulating a decision. However, I also realize that the buck stops with me as CEO and sometimes that’s not always the correct way to manage. I allow and encourage staff to be creative, innovative and take risks to do the best work they can.

In the overall scheme of things how important would company culture be and why?
Answer: Understanding your company culture is critical to success because people develop their impression of your company by the way they’re treated and will decide to support you or not based upon their impressions. As I said earlier, Long Island Cares is a caring, innovative and results oriented organization. We collaborate very well with organizations whose culture is similar to ours and right now that includes more than 575 other organizations.

About Paule Pachter

Paule T. Pachter is Chief Executive Officer of Long Island Cares, Inc., The Harry Chapin Food Bank. Founded by the late singer, Grammy Award winning songwriter, and social activist Harry Chapin, Long Island Cares brings together all available resources for the benefit of the hungry and food insecure on Long Island, and provides to the best of their ability for the humanitarian needs of our communities. Mr. Pachter is also on the faculty of St. Joseph’s College in Patchogue where he teaches a second-year graduate course on executive leadership and models of innovation.

Long Island Business News has described Paule Pachter as a leader “who has transformed the work of a food bank to focus on the root causes of hunger and food insecurity by developing some of the most innovative approaches to helping people in need.” As part of his vision, Pachter has redefined the role of a food bank to offer more direct services bringing Long Island Cares in closer contact with people in need, expanding mobile operations and building a network of community resources to increase distribution and capacity, which resulted in the organization receiving Feeding America’s prestigious Hunger’s Hope Award in 2011.