5) Bradley Jacobs

Title: CEO XPO Logistics

Jacobs has been shaking up the road transport and logistics market in the US since he bought Express-1 Expedited Solutions in 2011 and renamed it XPO Logistics.

He believes that the industry is ripe for consolidation due to its fragmented nature and he’s been sourcing funds and acquiring businesses ever since. It’s something he’s been doing his entire career: before buying XPO he built United Rentals, the largest construction and commercial equipment rental firm in the US, and in 2003 the New York Times estimated that he had made about 500 acquisitions over 10 years and raised $4 billion in capital.

So when Jacobs acquired Norbert Dentressangle in April you know he means business. He’s already described Europe and “interesting” when it comes to further acquisitions. There is every chance he could buy in the UK.

  • Every day over Christmas and the New Year we will be counting down the Motor Transport Power Players from 20 to one, so come back tomorrow at 9am to see who is next in our countdown. As ever, we'd welcome your feedback and input into the debate. Send us your thoughts on Twitter @Motor_Transport using #MTPowerPlayers

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