Joseph S. Deitch is an American business executive and philanthropist, and the author of Elevate: An Essential Guide to Life. In 2018, he founded the Elevate Prize Foundation, whose mission is to “empower individuals and organizations whose ideas and endeavors elevate the human experience". The organization will award $5 million annually amongst its recipients starting in 2020. He is the founder and Chairman of Commonwealth Financial Network, the largest privately owned independent broker/dealer-RIA in the United States with approximately $161 billion in assets under management. In addition, Deitch is the chairman of Southworth Development, a golf and leisure real estate company. He has also served as a BroadwayProducer and won a Tony Award as co-producer of The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess in 2012. Deitch also founded the Deitch Leadership Institute at the Boston Latin School, the oldest public school in the United States.
Life and career
Deitch was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts. He lived in Dorchester and Mattapan, graduating in 1968 from the Boston Latin School, and then attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he received a BA in International Relations in 1972. He later attended Harvard Business School, graduating from the Owner/President Management program in 1989. Following graduation from the University of Pennsylvania, he moved to the U.S. Virgin Islands for two years, before moving back to Boston. He began his professional career in 1974 with Mass Indemnity. He then moved to New England Life in 1975, to pursue a career in financial planning, and in 1978, he founded The Cambridge Group which provided comprehensive financial planning services to affluent individuals. In 1982, Becker Research Corporation named The Cambridge Group the most prominent financial planning firm in its area. In 1979, he formed Commonwealth Equity Services, an independent Broker-dealer. Today, the company is known as Commonwealth Financial Network. In 1988, Deitch left The Cambridge Group in order to focus exclusively on Commonwealth. In 2006, he formed a partnership with Southworth Development CEO David Southworth, becoming chairman of Southworth Development, a golf and leisure real estate company with properties in the United States, Scotland, and The Bahamas. Each of the company's six properties have received national and/or international acclaim. Deitch served as CEO of Commonwealth Financial Network until 2009, when he assumed the role of Chairman. Today, Commonwealth serves approximately 2,000 investment advisors, with approximately $161 billion in assets under management as of 12/31/18. In 2017, Commonwealth was ranked as the number 9 “Best Place to Work in IT" among small organizations by Computerworld Magazine, and has been recognized as a ”Best Place to Work” 41 times by regional publications in Boston and San Diego. J.D. Power and Associates has ranked Commonwealth “Highest in Independent Advisor Satisfaction Among Financial Investment Firms,” five times in a row. From 2009 – 2012, Deitch co-produced 9 Broadway productions, most of which were produced through Full House Productions, with Deitch serving as principal. These shows include The Addams Family, AView from the Bridge, and Fela, many of which were nominated for, or won, several Tony awards. In 2012, Deitch won a Tony award as co-producer for The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess
Impact
In 2004, 2005, and 2006, Deitch was recognized by Investment Advisor magazine as one of the Top 25 most influential people in the financial planning industry. In 2010, the magazine named him one of the “30 most influential individuals in and around the planning profession,” In 2015, Deitch was named to Investment Advisor magazine as one of the Top 35 most influential people in the financial planning industry. Through Southworth Development, he developed the first 18-hole Geo-Certified Course in the UK, ranked #1 as the Top Eco Course as well as a top 6 Modern Courses in Scotland, and helped push it to #59 of the top links course in the UK. The company's Ugadale Hotel was named Resort Hotel of the Year at the Scottish Hospitality Awards.
Community activities
In 2011, Deitch helped to form Commonwealth Cares, a 501 charity designed to maximize the impact of Commonwealth Financial Network's charitable efforts. The organization is dedicated to offering time, talent, and financial resources to help relieve human suffering, promote social and economic growth, and protect our planet's resources. Also in 2011, he founded the Deitch Leadership Institute at the Boston Latin School. The institute provides leadership training and focuses on individual growth and community improvement. Mr. Deitch also serves on the board of Sanku: Project Healthy Children, an organization working to alleviate malnutrition in Africa. In 2019, Sanku received the Zayed Sustainability Prize, Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies, and was one of eight organizations named in Give Well's Standout Charities. The organization also fortified its 1 millionth bag of flour with vitamins and minerals in 2019. The Elevate Prize Foundation, which Deitch founded in 2018, will award $5 million annually to recipients “whose ideas and endeavors elevate the human experience” starting in 2020.
Personal life
Deitch married psychologist Robbie Sue Lacritz, PsyD, in 1982. They were married until her death of ovarian cancer in December, 2006. He has one son, born in 1986.
