Brad Jacobs

GXO Logistics poised to embark on M&A hunt

Contract logistics provider GXO Logistics Inc. is ramping up a mergers and acquisitions program that will focus on North America and continental Europe, the company’s CFO said Thursday.

In a phone interview with FreightWaves, Baris Orem said M&A activities will be geographically focused and zero in on smaller contract logistics competitors that lack the scale and technology to meet the growing demands of its customer base, Orem said.

Germany, Europe’s largest market, is a strong focus of future...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/gxo-logistics-poised-to-embark-on-ma-hunt

XPO’s Jacobs predicts biggest transportation disruptor: 3D printing

With all the technological change driving the transportation industry, Brad Jacobs told a virtual audience of The Economic Club of New York that 3D printing was likely to disrupt transportation more than anything else.

The XPO (NYSE: XPO) CEO and founder of numerous companies said 3D printing is “the main long-term technology driver that is going to affect our industry.”

Jacobs conceded that 3D printing is taking awhile to gain traction in manufacturing. “But it’s going to happen,” he said,...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/xpos-jacobs-predicts-biggest-transportation-disruptor-3d-printing

Jacobs sells 20% of XPO, GXO holdings; shares fall sharply

Shares of transport company XPO Logistics Inc. and logistics firm GXO Logistics Inc., which XPO spun off in August into a publicly traded entity, fell sharply on Friday after public filings the day before disclosed that Brad Jacobs, XPO’s founder and the chair of both companies, sold 3.2 million shares in each.

The sales account for about 20% of Jacobs’ holdings in each company. He still owns around 12.3 million shares of each, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings. This...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/jacobs-sells-20-of-xpo-gxo-holdings-shares-fall-sharply

Meet the Investor: Ben Gordon inspired by scrappy underdogs and curious billionaires

FreightWaves’ Meet the Investor series delves into the stories behind the industry’s biggest investments, the individuals who manage them and the lessons they learned along the way.

Ben Gordon, the founder and managing partner of Cambridge Capital, has spent his career investing in and advising supply chain companies, ranging from some of the largest global logistics providers to e-commerce startups.

While his younger self was passionate about civic leadership, he realized the impact that...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/meet-the-investor-ben-gordon-inspired-by-scrappy-underdogs-and-curious-billionaires

The Log Book: 4 ways companies observed Veterans Day

The Log Book is a weekly rundown of human-interest stories related to the transportation industry. This week: Central States Mfg. donates drivers and wreaths for veteran nonprofit, OOIDA kicks off “Truckers for Troops”, Love’s raises funds for veterans with specialty tumblers and XPO’s CEO challenges the company to hire more active and veteran military employees. 

Central States donates wreaths and drivers to Wreaths Across America

In honor of Veterans Day, Central States Manufacturing announced...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/the-log-book-4-ways-companies-observed-veterans-day

LTL profit setbacks mar XPO’s coming-out party

This probably wasn’t the way Brad Jacobs wanted to start the show.

In its first reporting quarter since spinning off its logistics business in August to become a transportation-centric company, XPO Logistics Inc. delivered profit results late Tuesday that Jacobs, XPO’s chairman and CEO, called “mixed” but which analysts and investors might call disappointing.

XPO’s (NYSE:XPO) North American freight brokerage division killed it in the quarter, delivering 62% year-on-year gains in gross and net...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/ltl-profit-setbacks-mar-xpos-coming-out-party

XPO posts record quarterly revenue in Q3; LTL results mixed

XPO Logistics Inc., riding a wave of strong demand, reported on Tuesday $3.27 billion in third-quarter revenue, the highest top-line number for any quarter in the company’s 10-year history.

Greenwich, Connecticut-based XPO (NYSE: XPO) said it plans to expand its LTL trailer production with the goal of doubling trailer capacity next year. The company wilI also add 900 doors to its nationwide LTL count over the next one to two years and will impose accessorial charges for detained trailers,...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/xpo-posts-record-quarterly-revenue-in-q3

Atypical career ladder: Harik, XPO’s IT head, takes on its LTL business

Other than founder Brad Jacobs, no one has been more instrumental in XPO Logistics Inc.’s decadelong success than Mario Harik, its chief information officer (CIO). Harik, 42, has been with XPO (NYSE:XPO) since its founding in 2011. He built the company’s platform, ensuring the systems were in place before the company launched its unprecedented roll-up program. Harik then managed the technology integrations of 17 acquisitions in four years, a remarkable accomplishment by any measure. Following...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/atypical-career-ladder-harik-xpos-it-head-takes-on-its-ltl-business.nbsp

XPO names CIO Harik to run LTL business

XPO Logistics Inc. has named its chief information officer, Mario Harik, to run its LTL division, replacing Tony Brooks, who will retire, the company confirmed late Thursday night.

Harik (pictured), 42, who assumes the top LTL role in what XPO called an “acting” capacity, will also continue as XPO’s CIO, a position he has held since the original company was founded in 2011. In early August, XPO (NYSE: XPO) spun off its logistics operations, now known as GXO Logistics (NYSE: GXO). The original...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/xpo-names-cio-harik-to-run-ltl-business

Drive XPO reaches 500,000 downloads, improves operating ratios

In XPO Logistics’ Q2 earnings call in July, CEO Brad Jacobs called out its technology investments for improving the company’s operating ratio.

“Our second-quarter adjusted operating ratio ex-real estate gains was our best operating ratio yet,” he said. “In truck brokerage, we’re continuing to outperform the industry. This is due in no small part to the rapid adoption of our XPO Connect platform by customers and carriers.”

The freight marketplace XPO Connect was built to give its shipper customers...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/drive-xpo-reaches-500000-downloads-improves-operating-ratios

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