
Executive Vice President
Steve Ford
Email: sford@cbs-global.com
Mobile: (920) 376-0002
Phone: (920) 432-1166 ext 44

Steve started his career in the hotel-restaurant industry as the Assistant Manager of a hotel-restaurant. After holding this position for two-years, his father invited him to join Lapham-Hickey Steel. Steve worked for the company 46-years.
During his time with Lapham-Hickey Steel, he held various management positions and retired as the Chief Commercial Officer and Executive Vice President. Among his responsibilities, he reviewed the proposed acquisition of businesses to add to the company’s profile of locations. Steve enjoyed this aspect of the business and after retiring, decided to stay active in the manufacturing, fabrication, steel, and distribution industry.
Over the years, Steve maintained a close relationship with Michael Schwantes, the Founder and CEO of CBS-Global/Creative Business Services, a mergers and acquisitions firm headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Viewing this relationship as a natural fit for his professional expertise and industry activity, Steve welcomed the opportunity to join the M&A firm.
Steve, along with seventeen other professionals, founded a community bank in Oshkosh, Wisconsin where he sat on the board of directors, and the credit, governance, and audit committees for thirteen years. This experience further provided Steve with the expertise he now utilizes as M&A Advisor.
Furthermore, Steve holds numerous positions on the board of directors within the manufacturing, fabrication, steel, and distribution industry, including the Fabrication Manufacturing Association (FMA), the Nuts, Bolts and Thingamajigs Foundation, as well as the Oshkosh Chamber of Commerce. Additionally, Steve is on the Supplier Board of the Farm Equipment Manufacturing Association.
Education:
University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, Business Major
Six Sigma Black Belt
Steve’s homelife consists of spending time with his four children, eight grandchildren, golfing, downhill skiing and flying. Steve holds a private pilot’s license.

Sector Focus
Manufacturing
Manufacturing companies transform goods, materials or substances into new products. Many manufacturers own plants, mills or factories that produce such goods for public consumption.
Manufacturing is the engine that drives Wisconsin. Each dollar of manufactured goods in the United States creates additional dollar activity in other sectors.

Metal Fabrication
Cutting, punching, forming, shearing, stamping, and welding are common fabrication techniques used to shape, cut or mold raw material into a final product.
Similarly, brokering a fabrication company has a multitude of techniques associated with accomplishing the seller’s goals and only an industry expert within a seasoned merger & acquisition firm can successfully navigate.

Industrial Real Estate
The Industrial Real Estate group at Creative Business Services, combines deep industry knowledge and extensive relationships with the best advisory services.
An industrial property is a property used for actual manufacturing and can be considered as a factory or a plant. This is usually zoned for a light, medium or heavy industry. These include warehouses, garages and distribution centers.

Transportation & Logistics
Transportation, Distribution & Logistics involves the planning, management, and movement of people, materials, and goods by road, pipeline, air, rail and water.
Additionally, this sector includes support services such as transportation infrastructure planning and management, logistics services, mobile equipment and facility maintenance.

International
Our team and our partners have the expertise to perform any international transaction that you or your company may be interested in pursuing. From, buying equipment then transporting it overseas, to buying a U.S. company and continuing to operate it in the U.S. or even participating in the EB-5 program.
The Creative Business Services / CBS-Global team employs nine business intermediaries with expert level experience in their respect categories of business. In addition, Creative Business Services / CBS-Global employs international multi-lingual translators and International Business Specialists. It is because of these experts that Creative Business Services / CBS-Global is your ideal partner in international business transactions.

Accommodation, Food & Beverage
The Accommodation, Food & Beverage industry is a thriving one, particularly in larger cities and high tourist areas. No matter where you travel in the United States, you can rely on being able to find lodging or food within a reasonable driving distance.
This industry provides jobs to nearly 13 million Americans and is a major contributor to the Gross National Product.

Testimonials
After recently completing the purchase of our new property I can say without hesitation, it would never have been possible without the assistance of John Foster. John was professional, patient, courteous & accommo…
We will have to celebrate in style soon, but in the meantime I wanted to take a moment to thank you for the tremendous amount of work and creativity you brought to the table. And also for keeping me from jumping off t…
We worked with Gary Van Sistine of Creative Business Services. Gary helped us complete all the details and we closed the sale successfully! Also I asked Gary to look for additional units for sale. Thanks, Gary! Good J…