At Weinberg Capital Group, we bring more than just capital to every business relationship. We seek to leverage our deep experience executing transactions, extensive network, and broad operating experience to drive success. Importantly, we are not “micro-managers” — rather, we strive to empower our management teams to reach collective strategic objectives. With an emphasis on partnership, we harness the financial, intellectual, and human capital of our family office to build value for our operating companies, their management teams, employees, and communities.
We integrate our six core values at each company to create the conditions for successful companies.
Weinberg Capital Group’s roots date back to the 1970s when our founder, Ron Weinberg, began his career. Ron was active in the beginning days of the leveraged buyout industry on Wall Street, now known as private equity. Over the years Ron led numerous deals culminating in the buyout of a small industrial company called Friction Products in the late 1980s. Ron became the Chairman and CEO of this business and was later joined by his son Chip in the 1990s to head corporate development. Eventually, through a combination of acquisitions and organic initiatives, the company became a $400MM+ international public company known as HAWK Corporation. During the later years of HAWK, Ron funded Chip to re-start Weinberg Capital Group as a platform for consummating lower-middle market transactions outside of the public company.
HAWK was successfully sold in 2010 and Ron rejoined Weinberg Capital.
Shortly after the exit of HAWK, the Weinbergs partnered with John Herman, a long-time friend and successful entrepreneur in an array of industries, to help build the portfolio of private investments. Since then, Weinberg Capital Group has operated as the direct investment platform for the family office. Nick Leiby joined the group in 2018, bringing more than a decade of experience across public accounting, investment banking and private equity to the firm. Today, Chip and John manage the day-to-day operations of the firm while Ron remains active within select areas as our Founder and Investing partner.
Among the hallmarks of the firm and our family office is our commitment to the community and philanthropy. Similar to the partnerships we have with our companies and their teams, we view that partnerships with the stakeholders who make them work within our community are part of our “DNA”. Currently Ron is a member of the Board of Directors of the Cleveland Clinic and chairs its Research and Education Committee. Additionally, the Weinberg family made a substantial gift to the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, dedicated to further its research capabilities and service to the community. John Herman has been very active in leadership and board positions over many years with several organizations including The Jewish Federation of Cleveland, Jewish Family Service Association and Centers for Aging Well, and currently serves on the Board of Directors of Piano Cleveland, a leading musical arts organization. We are supportive of numerous philanthropic causes locally and nationally in areas relating to: medicine, social services, mental health, education, and the arts.