Conversations with Thought Leaders from the M&A Community

James O. Futterknecht, Jr - A Pioneer of Private Equity

Posted by John Slater on April 16, 2008

 
 James O. Futterknecht, Jr - A Pioneer of Private Equity: Play Now | Play in Popup

James O. FutterknechtOur guest today, Jim Futterknecht, has witnessed the private equity industry almost from its beginning. Jim has been involved in the automotive OEM supply industry since joining Excel Industries, Inc. as a line foreman in 1970. He served in a variety of sales and sales management roles at Excel in the 70’s and was elected Vice President of Sales and a member of the Board of Directors of Excel in 1976.

In 1983 Jim was part of a senior management group that purchased Excel in a highly leveraged buyout engineered by Hammond, Kennedy and Whitney Co. Back then there were no “private equity” firms. They were called LBO shops. Excel was the sort of buyout that most investors can only dream of, growing from $40 million in revenues at the time of the acquisition to a public company with over a billion dollars in revenue at the time of its sale.

Over time Jim’s role expanded into operational responsibly as well as sales. In 1986 he led a strategic project resulting in Ford Motor Company becoming Excel’s largest shareholder, largest customer, and largest supplier. In 1990, he was elected Executive Vice President and in 1992 promoted to the position of President and Chief Operating Officer. He became Chairman, Present and CEO in 1995. In 1999 Jim led the merger of Excel into Dura Automotive Systems, Inc and joined the Dura Board.

Jim is currently a partner in Hammond, Kennedy and Whitney Co., a small cap private equity firm (www.hkwinc.com). Jim is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin (1969), happily married for 37 years, and the proud father of 2 adult daughters.

Length: This audio interview is about 27 minutes long.

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