--- title: Tom Pincu - a mentor in lighting and life – et cetera... description: This week we lost a giant in the sales industry, Tom Pincu. He taught me tactics, defiance, logic, science, and a bit of theatrics. I have often reflected on how fortunate I have been to have Pincu as a mentor. image: https://blog.etcconnect.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Tom-Pincu-750x500.png --- - [ETCCONNECT](https://etcconnect.com/) - [ABOUT](https://blog.etcconnect.com/about) - [AUTHORS](https://blog.etcconnect.com/blog-authors) - [CONTACT](https://blog.etcconnect.com/contact) [Follow us on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/ElectronicTheatreControls) [Follow us on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/ElectronicTheatreControls) [Follow us on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/electronic-theatre-controls) [Follow us on LinkedIn](https://www.youtube.com/user/ETCVideoLibrary) [![EtCetera_319x104](https://blog.etcconnect.com/hs-fs/hubfs/EtCetera_319x104.png?width=319&height=104&name=EtCetera_319x104.png "EtCetera_319x104")](https://blog.etcconnect.com) [![ETC Blog](https://blog.etcconnect.com/hs-fs/hubfs/EtCetera_319x104.png?width=319&height=104&name=EtCetera_319x104.png "ETC Blog")](https://blog.etcconnect.com) - [SPOTLIGHT](https://blog.etcconnect.com/tag/spotlight) - [ETC CULTURE](https://blog.etcconnect.com/tag/etc-culture) - [GEAR](https://blog.etcconnect.com/tag/gear) - [LEARN](https://blog.etcconnect.com/tag/learn) - [ODDS & ENDS](https://blog.etcconnect.com/tag/odds-ends) - [BRIGHT IDEAS](https://blog.etcconnect.com/tag/bright-ideas) Search ## [![blog-header](https://blog.etcconnect.com/hs-fs/hubfs/blog-header.png?width=476&height=155&name=blog-header.png "blog-header")](https://www.etcconnect.com) [Follow us on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/ElectronicTheatreControls) [Follow us on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/ElectronicTheatreControls) [Follow us on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/electronic-theatre-controls) [Follow us on LinkedIn](https://www.youtube.com/user/ETCVideoLibrary) [✕](https://blog.etcconnect.com/2021/10/tom-pincu#gwen-offcanvas-primary) - [SPOTLIGHT](https://blog.etcconnect.com/tag/spotlight) - [ETC CULTURE](https://blog.etcconnect.com/tag/etc-culture) - [GEAR](https://blog.etcconnect.com/tag/gear) - [LEARN](https://blog.etcconnect.com/tag/learn) - [ODDS & ENDS](https://blog.etcconnect.com/tag/odds-ends) - [BRIGHT IDEAS](https://blog.etcconnect.com/tag/bright-ideas) # Tom Pincu – a mentor in lighting and life ![David Lincecum](https://blog.etcconnect.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog%20Images/lincecum.png?width=34&height=34&name=lincecum.png)By [David Lincecum](https://blog.etcconnect.com/author/david-lincecum) 5 Oct 2021 ![](https://blog.etcconnect.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Tom-Pincu-750x500.png)   A great salesperson, the late Stan Schwartz of Rosco, once said, “Nothing happens until someone sells something.” Some of the most innovative inventions failed because there was nobody to sell them! This week, we lost a giant in the sales and marketing industry, Tom Pincu.   ## **The early years of lighting sales and marketing** Tom Pincu started in the lighting business in the mid-’50s while studying as a grad student at UCLA. He ended up working at Century Lighting (now Strand/Philips) for Louis Earhart, a man who became his mentor. Under the tutelage of Earhart, he learned the science of lighting and the art of sales. Pincu was well suited to this work. He had a mind for math and science. After a brief stint in the Army, he returned to Century but soon moved to Colortran, where he became their Western Marketing Manager. It was here that he learned the art of product management. Over the course of his career, he was an independent sales rep for Strand, Colortran, and eventually ETC. As a salesman, Pincu was a fierce competitor. His greatest desire was to “crush the competition.”  He loved a face-to-face shoot-out, and he used data, science, and sometimes theatrics, to convince the customer. He was an ambassador, a spy, and a showman. When Fred Foster took his first lighting console, the Mega Cue, to USITT seeking a buyer, Tom Pincu was one of the guys he approached. Colortran eventually bought the Mega Cue and distributed it as their own product. You can hear Pincu describe that initial meeting in the video below. The two became friends, and Fred always considered Pincu a mentor, someone who had the gift of experience. About 13 years after that initial meeting, Pincu became the ETC sales rep in Los Angeles. He and his partner Bill Moodie grew sales rapidly and established ETC as a leader in their territory. ![Tom Pincu](https://blog.etcconnect.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Tom-Pincu.jpg?width=770&height=550&name=Tom-Pincu.jpg) ## **My life in sales and marketing** Sales is a profession practically vilified; successes are rarely celebrated outside a small circle. I had studied design and set out on the “noble path.” Designers are celebrated! There are no Tonys or Emmys for sales. On completing grad school, I found myself in a sales career within two years. Truthfully, I was horrified. In the end – sales powers business, and over the past 26 years, I’ve accepted my inadvertent career choice. I moved to Los Angeles in 1994 to open a sales office for ETC. Tom Pincu was initially suspicious of me, fearing that ETC would push him and Bill out, but eventually took me on as a mentee. He taught me the science of light and how to sell. He taught me tactics, defiance, logic and science, and a bit of theatrics. Over the years, I have often reflected on how fortunate I have been to have Pincu as a mentor. As we lose these older mentors in our lives, we must ask if we are now doing for others as they did for us. Pincu’s death reminds me to be sure and stop to listen, offer insights, teach skills, and help people grow. [The following is an interview I did with Tom, filmed in 2010.](https://vimeo.com/623775730/8d5d490bb7)     *-by David Lincecum* - - - 0 [#SPOTLIGHT](https://blog.etcconnect.com/tag/spotlight) [#FEATURED](https://blog.etcconnect.com/tag/featured) [#Source Four](https://blog.etcconnect.com/tag/source-four) [#mentor](https://blog.etcconnect.com/tag/mentor) [#Colortran](https://blog.etcconnect.com/tag/colortran) [#Century Strand](https://blog.etcconnect.com/tag/century-strand) [#Strand](https://blog.etcconnect.com/tag/strand) [#Tom Pincu](https://blog.etcconnect.com/tag/tom-pincu) [#TOWN SQUARE](https://blog.etcconnect.com/tag/town-square) [#Fred Foster](https://blog.etcconnect.com/tag/fred-foster) ### Meet ETC France – 3 times bigger! [Previous article](https://blog.etcconnect.com/2021/10/meet-etc-france-3-times-bigger) ### Paolo Tizianel overcomes a console challenge [Next article](https://blog.etcconnect.com/2021/09/console-challenge) [David Lincecum](https://blog.etcconnect.com/author/david-lincecum) ![David Lincecum](https://blog.etcconnect.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog%20Images/lincecum.png?width=180&height=180&name=lincecum.png) David studied theatre and lighting design extensively, but later realized that he really loves the hardware! He started at ETC in 1994 and worked as a sales manager in Los Angeles until 2003 when he moved to Wisconsin to join marketing. In his spare time he has studied yoga extensively, practicing it each day and also teaching classes along the way. He enjoys wilderness canoeing and camping and spending time in the north woods of Wisconsin. #### You may also like [![](https://blog.etcconnect.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Balloon-Drop-after-Bush-speaks-Rep-Natl-Conv-1988-New-Orleans-750x500.jpg)](https://blog.etcconnect.com/2017/02/employee-spotlight-david-lincecum) [Lighting fixtures](https://blog.etcconnect.com/tag/lighting-fixtures) ### [Employee Spotlight – David Lincecum](https://blog.etcconnect.com/2017/02/employee-spotlight-david-lincecum) By [David Lincecum](https://blog.etcconnect.com/author/david-lincecum) 21-Feb-2017 It was July 1988. I had completed a design gig at a Shakespeare festival and returned to New Orleans to look for a month’s worth of work before starting year two of grad school at Tulane University. [Read More](https://blog.etcconnect.com/2017/02/employee-spotlight-david-lincecum) [![](https://blog.etcconnect.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/HighEnd-750x500.jpg)](https://blog.etcconnect.com/2017/04/high-end-systems-and-etc-behind-the-acquisition) [High End](https://blog.etcconnect.com/tag/high-end) ### [High End Systems and ETC – Behind the acquisition](https://blog.etcconnect.com/2017/04/high-end-systems-and-etc-behind-the-acquisition) By [David Lincecum](https://blog.etcconnect.com/author/david-lincecum) 6-Apr-2017 On Friday, March 31st, ETC completed its purchase of High End Systems from Barco, Inc. We are delighted to welcome High End into the ETC family. High End brings a solid position in their market, an... [Read More](https://blog.etcconnect.com/2017/04/high-end-systems-and-etc-behind-the-acquisition) [![](https://blog.etcconnect.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/NorthAddition_770x425-750x425.jpg)](https://blog.etcconnect.com/2019/02/warm-thank-you-from-all-of-us) [ETC](https://blog.etcconnect.com/tag/etc) ### [Warm thank you from all of us](https://blog.etcconnect.com/2019/02/warm-thank-you-from-all-of-us) By [David Lincecum](https://blog.etcconnect.com/author/david-lincecum) 19-Feb-2019 On behalf of everyone at ETC, I would like to express our sincere gratitude for the outpouring of love and sympathy over the loss of our beloved leader Fred Foster. The Foster family is also an... 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