Robert Strouse ’70, President, Wind River Holdings, L.P. – Vixxo: A Case Study in Disrupting the Distribution Channel to Create Value in the Business Services Sector

Robert Strouse, President of Wind River Holdings, a privately owned company that began as a family business nearly 100 years ago. Wind River owns and manages a portfolio of businesses in the manufacturing, services, real estate, and franchising sectors. Mr. Strouse presented a case study about one of Wind River’s portfolio companies, Vixxo. Vixxo resulted from a combination of two of the largest asset management and business insight organizations in North America—First Service Networks and FM Facility Maintenance. Mr. Strouse divided the development of Vixxo into five stages, and described the challenges and solutions required to create finally a profitable enterprise. Despite experiencing major setbacks along the way, such as failed execution and conflicts among management, cultures, and investors, Wind River was able to re-launch and rebuild Vixxo. In 2016, they are building for the future and expect to support two billion dollars in revenue in the near term. Perseverance, along with a good strategic plan, allowed Wind River to work through tough times and continue to provide a valuable service for their customers.