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Billionaire-led QXO hires Barclays banker Ihsan Essaid as first finance chief
(Bloomberg) — QXO Inc., the new company of trucking billionaire Brad Jacobs, has hired a Wall Street banker to manage its finances as the company moves closer to becoming a publicly traded company.
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Ihsan Essaid, head of global mergers and acquisitions at Barclays Plc in New York, is taking over as QXO’s first chief financial officer, Jacobs Private Equity II LLC – Jacob’s investment firm – said in a statement delivered Tuesday to Bloomberg.
Essaid has worked for Barclays since September 2021, including as co-head of global mergers and acquisitions. Prior to that, he led Credit Suisse’s media and telecommunications M&A group for more than six years and worked as a partner at Perella Weinberg Partners LP. Essaid began his career at Bank of America Corp., according to his LinkedIn profile.
QXO has about $1 billion for M&A and organic growth as it focuses on distributing building products, including building materials, plumbing supplies, as well as heating and cooling equipment. The company said it has identified about 7,000 potential M&A targets in the U.S. and more than 13,000 in Western Europe.
Billionaire Brad Jacobs targets business in building materials supplies
Essaid’s hiring comes just days before a May 30 vote in which shareholders of Nasdaq-listed SilverSun Technologies Inc. must approve a $1 billion investment from JPE and co-investors including its wealth management arm Sequoia Heritage, making JPE the company’s majority shareholder. .
SilverSun will be rebranded as QXO and will become a platform for Jacobs’ new venture following the closing, providing the company with a public listing. Jacobs is expected to become president and CEO of QXO, according to JPE. He will remain president of XPO Inc., as well as spinoffs RXO Inc. and GXO Logistics Inc.
“Ihsan is a big hitter in the world of mergers and acquisitions with an exceptional track record,” Jacobs said, according to the release, pointing to more than $50 billion in transactions during Essaid’s time at Barclays.
JPE declined to comment beyond its release. Essaid did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Barclays declined to comment.
(Adds disclaimer to Barclays comment.)
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