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Investment Banker·Freight & 3PL

Joe Conner

Managing Director, Co-Head of Transportation & Logistics Group at Harris Williams

Richmond, Virginia, USA

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Why they matter

Co-Head of Harris Williams' T&L Group with a decade-plus track record running the bank's marquee automotive-aftermarket and collision-repair sell-side deals.

Background

Joe Conner is a Managing Director and Co-Head of the Transportation & Logistics Group at Harris Williams, a middle-market investment bank headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. He began his career at CSX Transportation before earning an MBA from Harvard Business School (and a Bachelor's in Commerce from the University of Virginia), and has spent his Harris Williams career concentrated on automotive/heavy-duty aftermarket and broader transportation & logistics M&A. In February 2026 he was formally elevated to co-head the T&L Group as part of a firm-wide senior leadership expansion.

Notable deals

  • 2015
    Led the Harris Williams team advising Driven Brands (Maaco, Meineke) on its sale to Roark Capital Group
  • 2020
    Led the Harris Williams team advising Highline Aftermarket Holdings (Sterling Group portfolio co.) on its sale to Pritzker Private Capital
  • 2022
    Led the Harris Williams team advising RANDYS Worldwide Automotive on its sale to Tailwind Capital
  • 2022
    Led the Harris Williams team advising Crash Champions on its growth investment from Clearlake Capital and merger with Service King Collision

Call-prep brief

Background

  • CSX Transportation alum; Harvard MBA, UVA Bachelor's in Commerce
  • Career built almost entirely inside Harris Williams' Transportation & Logistics (T&L) Group, with a specialty in automotive/heavy-duty aftermarket and collision-repair consolidation platforms
  • Promoted to Co-Head of the T&L Group in February 2026 as part of a broader senior leadership expansion at the firm

Current focus

  • Sell-side and recapitalization mandates across automotive aftermarket distribution, collision repair roll-ups, and broader freight/logistics services
  • Repeat advisor to sponsors consolidating fragmented aftermarket and repair verticals (e.g., Crash Champions/Service King, Highline/Pritzker)

What he cares about

  • Platform scalability and multi-location roll-up stories that appeal to PE buyers
  • Positioning targets around secular tailwinds (e-commerce-driven freight demand, aging vehicle fleet driving aftermarket demand)
  • Maintaining Harris Williams' brand as the go-to bank for T&L sell-side processes

Recent moves

  • Elevated to Co-Head of T&L Group (Feb 2026), signaling expanded deal-origination and team-leadership responsibilities

Potential sensitivities

  • As a sell-side advisor, any conversation should avoid requesting confidential/non-public pipeline information; frame outreach around market perspective, not live mandates
  • New co-head title may mean split bandwidth between origination and internal leadership duties

Questions to ask

  1. Which sub-segments of freight brokerage/3PL is Harris Williams seeing the most sponsor demand for right now, and why?
  2. How has multiple expansion/compression in automotive aftermarket and logistics roll-ups shifted since the Crash Champions/Service King deal?
  3. What characteristics make a freight brokerage or 3PL platform "buyable" today versus two years ago?

Outreach draft

Subject
Freight brokerage/3PL deal perspective
Hi Joe, I'm [Name] with [Firm], and we're actively evaluating opportunities in the freight brokerage and 3PL space. Your work co-leading Harris Williams' Transportation & Logistics Group — including deals like the Crash Champions/Service King combination and the RANDYS/Tailwind sale — caught our attention as directly relevant to the platforms we're studying. Would you be open to a 20-30 minute call to share your read on current valuation dynamics, buyer appetite, and what separates a compelling 3PL or freight brokerage platform from the rest right now? Happy to work around your schedule. Thanks, [Name]

Linked companies

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