Shore Capital plans to build industrial automation distributor
Aurelio Banda has joined Shore Capital Partners, a Chicago-based private equity firm with offices in Nashville, as an executive operating partner, where he will lead Shore’s platform strategy to build an industrial automation distributor. In this role, Banda will be responsible for sourcing and evaluating prospective acquisition partners, while developing a commercial and operating strategy focused on technical expertise, applications support and manufacturer relationships (Figure 1).
"Shore takes a differentiated approach to the industrial automation landscape and understands the strategic discipline required to operate as a true channel partner to manufacturers and end users," said Banda. "I am excited to lead this effort backed by Shore’s operational infrastructure, board network and track record of building durable founder-led partnerships.”
Banda brings more than 35 years of experience across the full automation value chain, spanning distribution, manufacturing and private equity-backed operations. He most recently served as president and CEO of Turck USA, a provider of sensor, fieldbus, and connectivity products for factory, process and logistics automation. Prior to Turck, Banda was group vice president of automation at Motion Industries, where he led the company's automation business unit with P&L responsibility across OEM, integrator and end-user channels. Before that, he held CEO roles at PHD and Beckhoff Automation North America.
Banda has shared his thoughts on technology throughout his career.
He took the helm at Turck USA in July 2023, and Banda joined Motion in 2021.
He spoke about the ubiquitous IIoT in 2021.
Earlier in his career, Banda founded Controls Plus, a wholesale distributor and software application engineering company serving process and industrial manufacturing customers across the United States and Mexico for 15 years. Banda has served as a member of the board of directors of Ondex Automation, Shore Capital’s industrial-automation system integrator platform, since 2024.
“I’ve had the privilege of watching Aurelio’s capabilities as a board member of Ondex Automation over the past several years,” said John Sznewajs, partner and co-head of Shore Capital’s Industrials Fund. “What sets Aurelio apart is a combination of deep technical fluency across the automation hardware stack, first-hand experience in building strong channel relationships at both the manufacturer and distributor level and a track record of scaling businesses. We believe his partnership will be defining for this strategy.”
