How a Navy SEAL Runs a Machining Company, with Bill Berrien (Part II)

If you have not already listened to Part I, you can find it here.

After serving in the Navy SEALs for nine years, Bill Berrien retired from the military in 1999, ready for a new chapter in his life. He attended Harvard business school where there were six other SEALs in his class.

After graduating from Harvard, Bill worked as a Six Sigma Blackbelt at General Electric Health Care, which brought him to the Milwaukee area in 2002. Rather than climb the ladder at a large corporation, Bill’s ambition was to eventually acquire his own business. 

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Main Points

Preparing to Acquire a Business 

After working at G.E., Bill worked in private equity in the health care field to gain experience and earn the capital needed to purchase a company. Bill often advises people starting their careers to take a similar path to his. First, get a job at a large established company like G.E. that has opportunities to get training and exposure to different areas. This can help people figure out their interests and strengths, which may pay off in future endeavors. He says that today, running Pindel, he uses a lot of the principles he learned at G.E., such as root causing, critical thinking, and numbers orientation.

After he finished working in venture capital, Bill spent a year searching for the ideal business to purchase. He looked at around 120 potential companies, about 75% of which were related to manufacturing. In the end, he chose Pindel, a successful 75-year-old family company in precision machining with about 80 employees. He liked the company’s customer base and ownership, and he saw areas in the business that he believed he could improve and grow. 

Bill’s Start at Pindel

Bill says when he first came to Pindel he didn’t have a set game plan. He had no prior experience in precision machining, so the first thing he did was take the time to learn the business from the company’s former owner, Mark Pindel, who stayed on several years. 

Bill believes he gained some respect and trust from the company’s employees because he was a former Navy SEAL. He jokes that he did not tell anybody he went to Harvard, and some people at the company might find that out for the first time if they listen to this podcast.

Evolution of Equipment at P