BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Berkshire Partners LLC, a Boston-based investment firm, announced today that Michael J. Grebe, Jeffrey W. Henderson and Lawrence D. Kingsley have joined the firm as Advisory Directors. All three will work with Berkshire to source new investment ideas and serve as operating advisors to portfolio companies.
Ross Jones, a Managing Director at Berkshire, commented, “We are proud of our relationships with our network of strong executives, having benefited greatly over the years from their counsel, perspective and experience in both identifying compelling new investment opportunities and building value within our portfolio. We are pleased to welcome Mike, Jeff and Larry, all extraordinarily talented, proven executives in their respective industries and we look forward to building upon our relationships with each of them in the years ahead.”
Mr. Grebe serves on the board of SRS Distribution, a Berkshire portfolio company, and is also a member of the board of directors of the Jacksonville Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, the Baptist Health System and Sterling Backcheck, Inc.
Previously, Mr. Grebe served as Chief Executive Officer of Interline Brands, now a division of The Home Depot. Before Interline, he was a Group Vice President with Airgas, Inc. and President of IPCO Safety, Inc.
Mr. Henderson previously served as Chief Financial Officer of Cardinal Health. Prior to his tenure at Cardinal Health, Mr. Henderson held multiple positions at Eli Lilly and General Motors, including serving as President of Eli Lilly Canada and in management posts with General Motors in the U.S. and abroad. Currently, Mr. Henderson serves on the boards of publicly traded FibroGen, Halozyme and Qualcomm as well as Integrated DNA Technologies, Inc., a privately owned company.
Mr. Kingsley serves as Chairman of Husky, a Berkshire portfolio company, and is also on the boards of Rockwell Automation and Polaris Industries. Previously, Mr. Kingsley served as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Pall Corporation, a global leader in fluid separation sciences. Before joining the Pall Corporation, he served as Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of IDEX Corporation, a company specializing in fluid and metering technologies.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Kingsley held management positions with Danaher Corporation, Kollmorgen Corporation and Weidmuller Incorporated. He was also a Director of Cooper Industries Ltd.
Berkshire Partners LLC
About Berkshire Partners LLC
Berkshire Partners, a Boston-based investment firm, pursues investments in both private equity and marketable securities. Since 1986, the firm has raised nine private equity funds with more than $16 billion in aggregate capital and has made over 115 investments in primarily middle market companies. Berkshire has developed specific industry experience in several areas including consumer products and retail, business services, industrials, communications and transportation. Within private equity, Berkshire seeks to invest $50 million to $500 million of capital in each portfolio company and has a strong history of partnering with management teams to grow the companies in which it invests with the goal of consistently achieving superior investment returns. The firm invests in marketable securities through Stockbridge Investors, which was founded in 2007 and seeks to manage a concentrated portfolio of attractive long-term investments. Collectively, the firm benefits from its shared experiences, insights and relationships. For additional information, visit www.berkshirepartners.com.
