Small business is in my blood. In 1937, my grandfather Verdo, acquired a small paint store. Newman & Holmes, Inc. went on to operate for 80 consecutive years in northern New York, until being sold to a Aubuchon Hardware, a regional competitor, in 2017.
Verdo Capital is how I am now channeling my passion for small, family business. I am and always will be an operator who loves to take on the challenge of building the culture, teams, technology, and processes needed to scale businesses and achieve great outcomes. No vision is too big and no detail is too small. I take pride in simplifying complex & ambiguous situations in order to help the organization prioritize, focus and execute. I have grown businesses and products from scratch and run an $120mm+ P&L.
Prior to RACO and Verdo, I was a General Manager and VP at Follett, the leading operator of college bookstores in North America. In this role, I had full P&L responsibility for the Marketplace business and executive leadership within the Wholesale division.
I joined the Follett team after my former company, Valore Inc., was acquired by the Chicago-based family business. At Valore, I was the General Manager and SVP. During my tenure leading the business, Valore improved its profitability by over $5mm, achieving profitability, in less than 12 months, while growing the top-line to over $120mm in gross sales. I was responsible for product and account management, business development, strategic partnerships, customer service, operations, and logistics. Over the course of four years, we executed four transactions prior to the acquisition by Follett (two acquisitions and two divestitures). These deals provided me valuable insight into what makes a transaction successful (or not). Additionally, I was the primary negotiator when Newman & Holmes was sold in 2017. After six transactions in six years, I'm still hungry to add yet another.
After graduating Boston College with a degree in economics, I started my career advising large corporate clients at Deloitte Consulting, including Fortune 500 companies in a variety of industries. After Deloitte I graduated from Harvard Business School, where I was fortunate enough to meet my amazing wife, Sheela.
When not working, I enjoy spending time with Sheela and our two young daughters in the Bay Area. Whenever possible, I try to get outside, ideally skiing in the Sierra Nevada Range or back home in the Adirondacks.
Verdo Newman, my grandfather
My family on the first day of school
In 1937, Verdo bought Newman & Holmes. Since then, the Newman family ran it continuously until 2017.