QXO announces executive lineup

“I’ve known these leaders for many years and have great confidence in their ability to grow QXO into a tech-forward leader in building products distribution,” he said in a statement. “We have a world-class executive team pursuing shareholder value out of the gate.”

Joining Ihsan Essaid as incoming chief financial officer are eight leaders with extensive experience in executing growth strategies at scale, including roles with three of Jacobs’ prior public companies:

• Josephine Berisha, chief human resources officer—Berisha has more than two decades of senior HR experience with global companies, including human capital management, performance management, compensation and benefits, and workforce planning and analysis. She previously served as chief human resources officer for XPO, Inc. from 2020 to 2023, following three years as senior vice president, compensation, benefits and workforce analytics. Prior to XPO, during 18 years with Morgan Stanley, she held various HR leadership positions, including managing director, head of corporate compensation and executive pay design from 2013 to 2017.
• Joe Checkler, senior vice president, communications—Checkler most recently served as vice president of communications for XPO, Inc., where he led the corporate and investor communications organization from 2018 to 2022. Prior to XPO, he was a media relations executive with Peppercomm Inc. from 2015 to 2018. He began his career with an 11-year tenure as a reporter for Dow Jones & Company, where he covered business and financial news for The Wall Street Journal.
• Matt Fassler, chief strategy officer—Fassler was chief strategy officer of XPO, Inc. from 2018 through 2022 during the company’s strategic transformation in North America, and currently serves as a member of the board of directors of GXO Logistics, Inc., which was spun off from XPO. Previously, he spent more than 20 years at Goldman Sachs in global investment research as a managing director and business unit leader for the consumer sector from 2007 to 2018, and managing director, co-business unit leader for the retail sector from 2004 to 2007.
• Austin Landow, executive vice president—Landow is managing director of Jacobs Private Equity, LLC with responsibility for leading strategic projects. He joined XPO, Inc. from 2019 to 2023, and was instrumental in helping the company spin off GXO Logistics, Inc. and RXO, Inc. Earlier in his career, he was responsible for real estate investing while with Stockbridge Capital Group, LLC, and worked in the distressed debt and private equity groups at Cerberus Capital Management.
• Mark Manduca, chief investment officer—Manduca previously served as chief investment officer of GXO Logistics, Inc. from 2021 to 2023, with responsibility for managing relationships within the investment community. Prior to GXO, he held senior positions with leading investment banks, including Citigroup in London, where he was managing director in equity research from 2018 to 2021. Earlier, he led various sector-specific research teams for Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
• Eduardo Pelleissone, chief transformation officer—Pelleissone most recently led operations in the Americas and Asia Pacific for GXO Logistics, Inc. from 2021 to 2024, after serving as chief transformation officer for GXO’s parent company, XPO, Inc. Prior to XPO, he was executive vice president of global operations and chief operating officer for five years with Kraft Heinz Co. Earlier, during more than nine years with rail logistics leader America Latina Logistica SA, he held roles as chief executive officer and chief operating officer.
• Chris Signorello, chief legal officer—Signorello previously served in senior legal roles with XPO, Inc., most recently as deputy general counsel and chief compliance officer from 2021 to 2023. Prior to XPO, he was with industrial and consumer products leader Henkel Corporation for nearly a decade, where he was associate general counsel, among other leadership positions. Earlier, he spent nine years with the product liability and commercial litigation practice groups at Goodwin Procter LLP.
• Sean Smith, chief accounting officer and deputy chief financial officer—Smith has more than two decades of senior financial experience across multiple industries. From 2019 to 2024, he served as corporate controller for Chewy, Inc., a leading e-commerce retailer of pet supplies and medications. Prior to Chewy, he held key finance positions with XPO, Inc. over more than three years, most recently as corporate controller. He began his career with KPMG LLP.