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Brad Jacobs (businessman)

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Brad Jacobs
Born (1956-08-03) August 3, 1956 (age 68)
Providence, Rhode Island, U.S.
EducationNorthfield Mount Hermon School
Alma materBennington College
Brown University
OccupationBusinessman
Known for

Brad Jacobs (born August 3, 1956) is chairman and CEO of QXO, Inc.[1][2] In addition, he is executive chairman of XPO, Inc.,[3][4] and non-executive chairman of RXO, Inc. and GXO Logistics[5] both of which are spin-off companies from XPO, Inc..

Early life and education

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Jacobs was born in Providence, Rhode Island, the son of Charlotte Sybil (née Bander) and Albert Jordan Jacobs.[6][7] His father was a fashion jewelry importer.[7] He graduated from Northfield Mount Hermon School and then went on to attend Bennington College and Brown University and studied math and music; however, he dropped out in 1976.[8][9]

Career

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Jacobs has created eight corporations, six of which are publicly traded: QXO (2024); XPO, Inc. (2011) and its spin-offs, GXO Logistics (2021) and RXO (2022); United Rentals, Inc. (1997); and United Waste Systems, Inc., now Waste Management, Inc. (1989).[10]

In 1979,[11] Jacobs co-founded Amerex Oil Associates, Inc., an oil brokerage firm.[12] Jacobs was the company's CEO until it was sold in 1983.[13][14] In 1984, Jacobs moved to London and founded Hamilton Resources, Ltd., where he conducted oil trading deals.[14] Jacobs has frequently recognized Ludwig Jesselson as an influential mentor.[15][16]

In 1989, Jacobs founded United Waste Systems in Greenwich, Connecticut, and began consolidating small waste collection companies that had overlapping routes in rural areas. Jacobs was chairman and chief executive officer, and in 1992 he took the company public.[17][18] Jacobs sold United Waste Systems to USA Waste Services, Inc. for $2.5 billion in August 1997.[13]

In September 1997, Jacobs formed United Rentals, and became the new company's chairman and chief executive officer.[19] During late 1997 and early 1998, Jacobs grew the company through a strategy of consolidating equipment rental dealers in North America.[20][21] He took the company public in December 1997 on the New York Stock Exchange.[15]

In 2010, he established Jacobs Private Equity LLC to invest in a single company.[22][23][24]

In 2011, Jacobs invested approximately $150 million in XPO, Inc. (then named Express-1 Expedited Solutions), a transportation and third-party logistics provider.[23][25] He became chairman of the board[26][5] and CEO[27][28] and gained ownership of approximately 71 percent of the company.[29] The company was later listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol XPO, Inc.[30] In August 2021, XPO, Inc. completed its spin-off of GXO Logistics, and Jacobs became non-executive chairman of GXO's board of directors.[31][32][33] In August 2022, Jacobs announced plans to step aside as CEO of XPO, Inc. but remain executive chairman.[34][5] In November 2022, XPO, Inc. completed its spin-off of RXO, and Jacobs became RXO's non-executive chairman.[5] In 2023, he announced the upcoming release of his book How to Make a Few Billion Dollars.[35]

In June 2024, Jacobs founded QXO with the intention to consolidate the $800 billion building products distribution industry.[36] With the launch, he raised more than $5 billion of equity,[37][38] including what Bloomberg called the largest equity offering ever in the building products sector and private investment in public equity for industrials.[38]

Bibliography

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  • How to Make a Few Billion Dollars. Austin: Greenleaf Book Group Press, 2024. ISBN 979-8886451740[39]

Personal life

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Jacobs and his wife live in Greenwich, Connecticut.[15] Jacobs is an art collector with works by Picasso, de Kooning, Calder, Lichtenstein and others.[15]

References

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  1. ^ Staff, HBSDealer. "QXO announces executive lineup". HBS Dealer. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  2. ^ "Startup Building Products Distributor Officially Launches". Industrial Distribution. June 6, 2024. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  3. ^ Lublin, Joann (November 27, 2022). "XPO's Billionaire Chairman Brad Jacobs Is Hunting for His Next Big Deal". Time. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
  4. ^ Black, Thomas (October 17, 2022). "Brad Jacobs Is on the Hunt. Investors Should Pay Attention". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d Young, Liz (August 4, 2022). "Brad Jacobs Will Step Aside as CEO of XPO Logistics". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
  6. ^ "Charlotte Sybil (Bander) Jacobs (1929–2013)". The Providence Journal. April 8, 2013.
  7. ^ a b "Albert Jordan Jacobs (1927–2018)". The Providence Journal. May 31, 2018.
  8. ^ "Near Misses". Forbes. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
  9. ^ "From sapling to pure-play LTL: The story of XPO Logistics under Jacobs". Trucking Dive. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  10. ^ "Bradley Jacobs: The maestro of mergers". Forbes India. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  11. ^ "The big bet of Brad Jacobs". www.dcvelocity.com. Retrieved April 8, 2023. At 23, Jacobs co-founded Amerex Oil Associates Inc., a New Jersey-based oil brokerage firm, and served as its CEO until the firm was sold in 1983.
  12. ^ "June 4, 2005 Entrepreneur tells of unknown future". StamfordAdvocate. May 10, 2011. Retrieved November 11, 2011.
  13. ^ a b "The big bet of Brad Jacobs". DCVelocity. January 9, 2012. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  14. ^ a b "Greenwich's XPO Logistics CEO candid about French acquisition". StamfordAdvocate. July 27, 2015. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  15. ^ a b c d Gara, Antoine (April 10, 2018). "Better Than Amazon? How Bradley Jacobs Turned A $63M Bet Into A $12 Billion Transportation Empire". Forbes (magazine). Retrieved July 1, 2018. He read up on oil brokers and then cold-called his way into the business, enlisting the legendary Ludwig Jesselson, head of commodity house Phillip Brothers, as a mentor.
  16. ^ "An Acquiring Mind". Inbound Logistics. October 2015. My mentor, Ludwig Jesselson (a longtime commodity trader and philanthropist), once told me that if you genuinely enjoy solving problems, then you should choose business as a profession
  17. ^ "United Rentals, Inc. – Company History". Fundinguniverse.com. Retrieved November 11, 2011.
  18. ^ "StackPath". www.rermag.com. July 2000. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  19. ^ "Chief Executive Plans to Leave United Rentals". The New York Times. September 30, 2003. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  20. ^ Lipin, Steven (June 17, 1998). "United Rentals Business Bores Everyone Except Shareholders". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  21. ^ "The earth mover". Forbes. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  22. ^ "Wealthiest People in CT: 10. Bradley Jacobs". www.hartfordbusiness.com. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
  23. ^ a b "Jacobs puts $150 million into Express-1, aims big". Reuters. June 14, 2011. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  24. ^ "Jacobs completes equity investment; Express-1 now XPO Logistics". Commercial Carrier Journal. September 3, 2011. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  25. ^ "Express-1 Expedited Solutions Announces First Quarter 2011 Conference Call". NBC News. May 5, 2011. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  26. ^ "XPO's Billionaire Chairman Is Hunting for His Next Big Deal". Time. November 27, 2022. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
  27. ^ "The big bet of Brad Jacobs". dcvelocity.com. January 9, 2012. Retrieved June 6, 2012.
  28. ^ A. Ananthalakshmi (October 6, 2011). "DealTalk: Brad Jacobs: a U.S. transport serial acquirer". Reuters. Archived from the original on November 9, 2011. Retrieved November 11, 2011.
  29. ^ Zimmerman, Kevin (November 17, 2017). "XPO Logistics: Fast growth through acquisitions and management style". Westfair Communications. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
  30. ^ "Jacobs has big plans for Express-1 expediter". GreenwichTime. February 7, 2012. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  31. ^ "Fortune 500 company XPO Logistics' revenues jump 44% before spin-off: 'The future looks bright'". GreenwichTime. July 29, 2021. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  32. ^ "Spin-off of GXO Logistics from XPO Logistics is a done deal". Logistics Management. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  33. ^ "XPO completes spinoff of GXO, which begins trading today". Westfair Communications. August 2, 2021. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  34. ^ Young, Liz (August 4, 2022). "Brad Jacobs Will Step Aside as CEO of XPO Logistics". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
  35. ^ Hall, Phil (October 16, 2023). "M&A, Brad Jacobs-style". Westfair Communications. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  36. ^ Young, Liz (December 11, 2023). "Brad Jacobs Targets Construction Materials for Next Billion-Dollar Rollup". WSJ.
  37. ^ Castenson, Jennifer (June 17, 2024). "Big Investment In Building Products Promises To Transform The Industry". Forbes.
  38. ^ a b Porter, Kiel (June 13, 2024). "Billionaire Jacobs Nears $3.5 Billion QXO Equity Offering". Bloomberg.
  39. ^ "Billionaire Brad Jacobs reveals his recipe for building a business empire | Fox Business Video". Fox Business. October 2, 2023. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
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