Calera Capital Adds Bob Bianco as Operating Partner

SAN FRANCISCO & BOSTON--()--Calera Capital, a leading middle-market private equity firm, today announced that Bob Bianco, former CEO of Menlo Worldwide, has become an Operating Partner of Calera.

Mr. Bianco will assist Calera with investments in the transportation and supply chain management space with a particular focus on the third party logistics (“3PL”) sector. Calera intends to commit $40 to $200 million of equity per investment in a range of transaction types which are primarily focused on family/founder owned businesses but may also include recapitalizations of private and public companies, corporate divestitures, and growth equity investments.

James Halow, Managing Director at Calera, said, “Bob is well-known to Calera through his involvement on the Board of Rock-It Cargo, a former Calera portfolio company, and his extensive experience in the third party logistics space. We are excited to be adding Bob as an Operating Partner as he is a high-caliber, seasoned executive with a long track record of building businesses in the 3PL sector.” Added James Farrell, Managing Partner at Calera, “The addition of Bob Bianco continues Calera’s demonstrated model of partnering with industry operators to deliver strategic and operational insight and, ultimately, long-term, sustainable value in the businesses in which we invest.”

“I am excited to be working with Calera,” stated Bob Bianco. “Having seen firsthand how Calera operates, I am a strong believer in Calera’s culture and approach. With capital, resources and our operational and strategic insights, we see tremendous opportunities to support management teams in growing and building enterprises within the broader supply chain and 3PL market.”

Bob Bianco has more than 25 years of experience building and leading successful logistics and transportation management enterprises. For the last 13 years, Mr. Bianco served as President and CEO of Menlo Worldwide, a leading provider of logistics services including transportation management, value-added warehousing, distribution and brokerage. As an independent supply chain start-up within Con-way Freight, Mr. Bianco helped lead that business from the ground-up to approximately $1.7 billion in revenue. Con-way was acquired by XPO Logistics in October 2015 for $3 billion. Mr. Bianco also currently serves on the Board of Rock-It Cargo, a specialty freight forwarder in which Calera invested in 2009. While on the Board of Rock-It Cargo, Mr. Bianco and Calera supported management in entering new markets, geographies and business lines, increasing the efficiency of Rock-It’s operations, and completing a number of select, value-added acquisitions. These efforts resulted in a successful investment outcome for Calera in 2015 and a business that is diversified, defensible, and well-positioned for continued success going forward.

About Calera Capital

Founded in 1991, Calera Capital is a private investment firm which has invested over $2.9 billion. With offices in San Francisco and Boston, Calera focuses on partnering with founders and management teams to drive significant value creation in their businesses, primarily in two industry sectors: Business Services and Specialty Industrials. Calera Capital makes substantial equity investments in middle-market businesses, typically with enterprise values in the range of $100 million to $750 million, and works closely in support of management to build long-term sustainable value through the implementation of strategic and operating initiatives. For more information, visit www.caleracapital.com.

Contacts

Muirfield Partners
Mickey Mandelbaum
Maya Pogoda
(310) 785-0810
mickey@muirfieldpartners.com
maya@muirfieldpartners.com

Release Summary

Calera Capital, a leading middle-market private equity firm, today announced that Bob Bianco, former CEO of Menlo Worldwide, has become an Operating Partner of Calera.

Contacts

Muirfield Partners
Mickey Mandelbaum
Maya Pogoda
(310) 785-0810
mickey@muirfieldpartners.com
maya@muirfieldpartners.com