Craig is a Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Shale-Inland, LLC, one of the nation’s leading distributors of stainless and carbon steel, aluminum, and high quality stamped and fabricated parts.
In 2004, Craig co-founded Esmark Inc. and assumed the role of President and Vice-Chairman of the Board. Esmark acquired nine steel companies, including the celebrated hostile takeover of Wheeling Pittsburgh Corporation, which made Esmark a publicly traded stock on the NASDAQ. In doing so, Esmark accomplished the first hostile reverse tender merger in Wall Street history and became the 4th largest American steel company. Founded in 2003 at 25 cents per share, an enterprise value of $2 million and revenue of $4 million, Esmark grew to revenue of over $3 billion and was ultimately sold for $19.25 per share, an enterprise value of $1.3 billion. The Esmark story is chronicled in “America For Sale, How the Foreign Pack Circled and Devoured Esmark. Copyright 2009 Craig T. Bouchard and James V. Koch, published by ABC-CLIO. www.esmarkquantitative.com.
Craig helped recapitalized the current Esmark Inc. in 2009 and resigned his position as Vice-Chairman of the Esmark Board of Directors on August 16, 2010 to begin building a new steel company targeted at Fortune 1000 customers in the next economic generation.
From 1998-2003, Craig was the President and Chief Executive Officer of New York based NumeriX, a high level mathematics risk management based software company.
Prior to helping found NumeriX, Craig was a Senior Vice President at the First National Bank of Chicago, (now JPM/Chase). In the 150-year history of the bank, Craig was the 2nd youngest individual to rise to the level of Senior Vice President.
During his 19-year career at the bank, Craig was the Global Head of Derivatives Trading, Head of Institutional Research, and Head of Asia Pacific, residing in Hong Kong and Tokyo. From 1990-1993, Craig was the Managing Director of the Board of CCIC Finance, a joint venture merchant bank in China which was a partnership of First Chicago, Industrial Bank of Japan, and the Bank of China.
Craig holds a Bachelor’s degree from Illinois State University (1975), a Master’s Degree in Economics from Illinois State University (1977), and an MBA from the University of Chicago (1981). He has been a member of the Board of Trustees of Boston University and the Foundation of the University of Montana. He was a member of the Board of Directors of the Wheeling Nisshin Inc. (2007/2008), one of the most successful Japanese American Joint Ventures. He is an alumnus of Leadership Greater Chicago. Craig is a member of the Leadership Board of the Department of Athletics, Duke University.
Craig was elected to the Hall of Fame of the Illinois State University College of Arts and Sciences in 2008. He is a member of the Hall of Fame of Hinsdale Central Township High School. Craig holds United States Patent 4,212,168, Power Producing Dry-Type Cooling Systems.
2010 USTA national individual tennis ranking in Men’s 55 and over doubles; #20
Craig is married to Melissa N. Bouchard and is the proud father of six children; Kai, Justin, Patrick, Shale, Cambelle, and Braidy.
