L’UNION FAIT LA FORCE: MIKE HINDI FINDS STRENGTH IN UNITY
Mike Hindi successfully closed his deal in July 2022, becoming the third Entrepreneur to complete a search and acquisition as part of NCA’s ETA program. We sat down with Mike to learn about his search journey and find out what drove him to pursue Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition in partnership with NCA. For more details on Mike Hindi’s acquisition, please read the full press release here
When Mike Hindi joined NCA’s ETA program, he was already an accomplished leader in post-merger, restructuring and integration. He had experience with startups acting either as an angel or an advisor, and a successful career in the corporate world. Yet he had found himself looking for something more…
“I realized I wanted to move into the entrepreneurial world,” explained Mike, “as I essentially wanted to be my own boss and have more skin in the game.”
In 2017, while employed full-time at Novartis, Mike had decided to pursue an Executive MBA at Oxford University. “It felt like an Iron Man journey with a lot of changes happening both professionally and personally, as I also became a father during that time,” said Mike. “Those few years were a very intense time of reflection for me, and I met the NCA team right when I was completing my Executive MBA and wrapping up my time at Novartis.”
Mike felt an immediate fit with NCA on a personal level.
“As a people-person, I am a strong believer of l’union fait la force (strength in unity),” said Mike. “NCA’s expertise complimented my personal experience in post-acquisition value creation. I also saw a lot of opportunities through ETA as a way to address succession issues, which many companies in Europe are facing moving forwards. So it felt like there was a lot of potential opportunity through ETA for me to leverage my skill set to create real, lasting value.”
Thus began the next step of Mike’s entrepreneurial career in partnership with NCA
MIKE’S SEARCH GOES GREEN
Mike’s search took 15 months from start to close, ending with him becoming a Co-Owner of Green Logistics Groningen, an end-to-end logistics service provider based in the Netherlands. Mike had originally chosen to begin his search within the DACH region, focusing on deals that fit his targeted industry sectors. “Approximately 70% of my focus was on proprietary deals in the DACH region, and the other 30% was dedicated to exploring potential opportunistic deals,” he explained. “This deal was one of those opportunistic deals.”
“Green Logistics Groningen was facing a succession issue because one of the former owners was ready to retire,” continued Mike. “There were other potential buyers, but I understood most of them were typical private equity funds, who don’t bring that personalized human element to the table. The sellers emphasized that the most important factor in a potential deal for them was making sure there was a perfect fit with the Green Logistics family and values, which have guided their company from day one.”
From the beginning, Mike saw many things he loved about Green Logistics Groningen: “I love that there’s a strong sense of family,” he said, “the ‘green family.’ I feel it today with all the employees and I felt it the moment I started talks with the sellers; it’s strong and I connected with that right away.”
“I also love the company values around trust and integrity,” Mike continued. “And from a business standpoint, I could see the company had been growing and has good growth potential. They’ve done an amazing job of taking care of their customers and have lived by their commitment to long term sustainable partnerships. That approach to partnerships is very, very important to me on a personal level; it’s what drives me on a day-to-day basis, so that felt like a perfect fit very quickly.”
So how does Mike feel to be stepping into his new role within the company? “I’m very excited to join the Green Logistics family,” said Mike. “I’m looking forward to working with the existing general manager and the rest of the team, who have been doing a fantastic job, as we continue to adhere to the company’s core values of trust, integrity, and long-term sustainable partnerships moving forwards together.”
NCA AS A PARTNER FOR ETA
NCA knows from experience what it takes to set up and run a successful business. When asked how NCA supported his search and acquisition process, Mike said, “NCA’s support was critical at all stages of this journey. I could speak with the NCA Partners easily and it was great to always have someone who could listen and offer their perspective. You’re never alone, and as I said before, I like to partner with people, so it’s been great to have NCA sparring partners who are there throughout the process.”
As co-investors in each acquisition under our program, NCA is deeply committed to the success of every one of our NCA Entrepreneurs and their companies. Mike’s acquisition proves our program is successful and further highlights NCA Entrepreneurs as ideally positioned to find, acquire, and grow companies backed by the support, structure, and know-how offered by the NCA team.
Mike’s successful acquisition also further reinforces our shared belief in ETA as a unique way of addressing succession challenges facing SMEs, who are the backbone of our economy. Our Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition program ensures business legacy and continuity for SMEs on a global scale, as all stakeholders share aligned interests and a commitment to long term success. We are thrilled to congratulate Mike on this acquisition and look forward to continuing to support him and the Green Logistics Groningen family.
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For more information about Mike, please visit: https://novastone-ca.com/searcher-mike-en.php
For more information about Green Logistics Groningen, please visit: https://glgbv.com/en/
For more information about NCA, please visit: https://novastone-ca.com/index.php