INDIANAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--USIC, North America’s leading provider of underground utility locating services, announced today the appointment of Yuvbir Singh as President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Singh assumed the role February 28 as part of a planned succession. Ron Childress, USIC’s interim CEO, has held the position since September 2023 and will return to his previous role as a member of USIC’s Board of Directors.
Mr. Singh most recently served as Chief Executive Officer of Veolia Water Technologies and Solutions, a global provider of comprehensive chemical, equipment, and digital enabled services and products for addressing water availability and quality challenges. Previously, he served as a GE Company Officer with responsibility for the multinational conglomerate’s locomotive, mining, stationary power, marine and drill businesses. In his 23-year tenure with GE, he held a range of leadership roles, including Vice President of Equipment for GE Transportation, Vice President of Global Locomotive Operations, and General Manager of Engineered Systems for Water and Process Technologies, as well as roles in Mergers and Acquisitions, with involvement in many strategic M&A transactions.
"Yuvbir Singh has a strong record of success in executing corporate renewals and long-term growth strategies for complex businesses. Under his leadership, USIC is positioned to capitalize on industry growth trends driven by historic levels of infrastructure investment,” Michael D. Penner, Chair of USIC’s Board of Directors, stated. “With a background in electronics engineering and extensive experience in leading global field operations in the deployment of innovative solutions, Yuvbir is ideally suited to transform USIC’s operations through innovation and the employment of advanced technologies to elevate quality and efficiency and add value for the utilities we serve. On behalf of USIC’s Board of Directors, I want to thank Ron Childress for his leadership of the company as interim CEO and for continuing to make himself available to support Mr. Singh in facilitating a seamless transition.”
After the transition, Ron Childress will continue to serve in an advisory role for the company as a board member. “Yuvbir is uniquely qualified following a successful career in adjacent industry roles,” said Childress. “USIC and our customers will benefit from his extensive experience and innovative approach. It has been an honor to serve as interim CEO for USIC, and I look forward to supporting Yuvbir and the entire USIC team in my continuing role as a member of USIC’s Board of Directors.”
"I am honored to be joining the industry leader in underground utility damage prevention and look forward to immersing myself in learning more about the company’s operations and to beginning to meet the company’s more than 13,000 employees dedicated to protecting the nation’s critical infrastructure and ensuring public safety,” Mr. Singh commented. “There are tremendous opportunities for us to pursue together, as well as challenges to face, and I am excited to get started.”
USIC is jointly owned by Partners Group and Kohlberg & Company ("Kohlberg"). Partners Group originally invested in USIC in 2017 and partnered in November 2022 with a Kohlberg-led consortium, including funds managed by Mubadala and Neuberger Berman.
About USIC
Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, USIC is a leading provider of outsourced "utility locate" services, which involve locating, identifying, and marking sub-surface utility infrastructure, such as pipes, cables, and fiber. These services are provided on behalf of public utilities that are required by law to ensure underground infrastructure is marked correctly before ground is broken on any new project. USIC currently serves over 1,300 customers in the US and Canada across six utility markets: cable, telecom, electric, gas, water, and sewer. It has a workforce of 12,000 technicians who perform approximately 84 million locates each year. For more information, please visit www.usicllc.com.
About Partners Group
Partners Group is a leading global private markets firm. Since 1996, the firm has invested USD 200 billion in private equity, private real estate, private debt and private infrastructure on behalf of its clients globally. Partners Group seeks to generate superior returns through capitalizing on thematic growth trends and transforming attractive businesses and assets into market leaders. The firm is a committed, responsible investor and aims to create sustainable returns with lasting, positive impact for all its stakeholders. With USD 142 billion in assets under management as of 30 June 2023, Partners Group provides an innovative range of bespoke client solutions to institutional investors, sovereign wealth funds, family offices and private individuals globally. The firm employs more than 1,800 diverse professionals across 20 offices worldwide and has regional headquarters in Baar-Zug, Switzerland; Denver, USA; and Singapore. It has been listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange since 2006 (symbol: PGHN).
For more information, please visit www.partnersgroup.com or follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter.
About Kohlberg & Company
Kohlberg is a leading private equity firm based in Mount Kisco, New York. Over the firm’s 36-year history, the firm has organized 11 private equity vehicles totaling in aggregate over $14 billion. Since inception, the firm’s private equity investments have generated over $10 billion in realized returns with no realized losses since 2007. The firm invests in leading middle market businesses that are identified through its rigorous thematic research and the firm’s White Paper Program in its six core practice areas. For more information, please visit www.kohlberg.com.
About Mubadala
Mubadala Investment Company is a sovereign investor managing a global portfolio, aimed at generating sustainable financial returns for the Government of Abu Dhabi.
Mubadala's $276 billion (AED 1015 billion) portfolio spans six continents with interests in multiple sectors and asset classes. It leverages its deep sectoral expertise and long-standing partnerships to drive sustainable growth and profit, while supporting the continued diversification and global integration of the economy of the United Arab Emirates.
For more information about Mubadala Investment Company, please visit: www.mubadala.com.
About Neuberger Berman
Neuberger Berman, founded in 1939, is a private, independent, employee-owned investment manager. The firm manages a range of strategies—including equity, fixed income, quantitative and multi-asset class, private equity, real estate and hedge funds—on behalf of institutions, advisors and individual investors globally. Neuberger Berman's investment philosophy is founded on active management, engaged ownership and fundamental research, including industry-leading research into material environmental, social and governance factors. Neuberger Berman is a PRI Leader, a designation awarded to fewer than 1% of investment firms. With offices in 26 countries, the firm's diverse team has over 2,750 professionals. For nine consecutive years, Neuberger Berman has been named first or second in Pensions & Investments Best Places to Work in Money Management survey (among those with 1,000 employees or more). The firm manages $443 billion in client assets as of June 30, 2023. For more information, please visit our website at www.nb.com.
