# Brad Jacobs

> Brad Jacobs is an American entrepreneur, investor and author based in Greenwich, Connecticut. He built modern XPO after leading a 2011 investment in Express-1, served as its CEO until 2022, and led the separations of GXO and RXO. Earlier ventures included Amerex Oil Associates, Hamilton Resources, United Waste Systems and United Rentals. He is now chairman and CEO of QXO and managing partner of Jacobs Private Equity, applying acquisition and operating methods developed across those businesses to building products distribution.

- **Role:** Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at QXO
- **Organizations:** QXO, Jacobs Private Equity, XPO, GXO Logistics, RXO, United Rentals, United Waste Systems, Hamilton Resources, Amerex Oil Associates, Business Roundtable, The Business Council, The Economic Club of New York
- **From:** Providence, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Secondary school graduate, Northfield Mount Hermon School, Bennington College, Brown University
- **Known for:** Founded or co-founded eight businesses that reached billion-dollar or multibillion-dollar scale, including six publicly traded companies; the count includes XPO spin-offs GXO and RXO., Jacobs and his teams have completed approximately 500 mergers and acquisitions and raised more than $60 billion in institutional capital, according to his current QXO biography., Built United Waste into the fifth-largest solid waste management business in North America before its 1997 sale.

## Career timeline

- **1979** — Co-founded Amerex Oil Associates and became CEO.
- **1983** — Amerex was sold; his CEO tenure ended.
- **1984** — Founded Hamilton Resources, an international oil trading business, in London.
- **1989** — Founded United Waste Systems.
- **1992** — Took United Waste public.
- **1997** — Sold United Waste to USA Waste Services and founded United Rentals with former United Waste executives.
- **2003** — Stepped down as United Rentals CEO at year end; continued as chairman.
- **2010** — Formed Jacobs Private Equity.
- **2011** — Led an investment of up to $150 million in Express-1; became chairman and CEO on September 2 as the business became XPO Logistics.
- **2021** — Led the GXO Logistics spin-off from XPO.
- **2022** — Led the RXO spin-off; Mario Harik became XPO CEO on November 1 and Jacobs became executive chairman.
- **2024** — Published How to Make a Few Billion Dollars; became QXO chairman and CEO on June 6 as the initial $1 billion equity investment closed.
- **2025** — QXO completed the approximately $11 billion Beacon acquisition on April 29. His second book was published December 9. He left XPO and GXO chairmanships December 31.
- **2026** — QXO completed Kodiak Building Partners acquisition April 1 and TopBuild acquisition July 1.

## Achievements

- Founded or co-founded eight businesses that reached billion-dollar or multibillion-dollar scale, including six publicly traded companies; the count includes XPO spin-offs GXO and RXO.
- Jacobs and his teams have completed approximately 500 mergers and acquisitions and raised more than $60 billion in institutional capital, according to his current QXO biography.
- Built United Waste into the fifth-largest solid waste management business in North America before its 1997 sale.
- Built United Rentals into the largest equipment rental provider within 13 months of its founding, according to his corporate biography.
- Built modern XPO and led the GXO and RXO separations.
- Published two business books, in 2024 and 2025.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — HG HomeClub named Jacobs to its 25 Most Influential Leaders in Home Improvement, Home Services and Outdoor Living list on October 4.
- **2026-09** — ResiClub announced September 30 that Jacobs is scheduled to give the keynote at ResiDay in New York on November 6, 2026.
- **2026-08** — Jacobs Private Equity highlighted his August 27 Morgan Stanley Hard Lessons interview, Question Deeply, Act Quickly.
- **2026-07** — QXO completed its acquisition of TopBuild on July 1, adding insulation distribution and installation capabilities.
- **2026-04** — QXO completed its approximately $2.25 billion Kodiak Building Partners acquisition on April 1.
- **2025-12** — How to Make a Few More Billion Dollars was published December 9; Jacobs left the XPO and GXO chairmanships effective December 31 to focus on QXO and Jacobs Private Equity.

## Links

- Website: https://www.jpe.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradjacobsqxo/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/brad-jacobs
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-25