Herbert Shear Appointed Commonwealth Trustee on the Pitt Board of Trustees

PITTSBURGH—Herbert Shear, chair and CEO of GENCO ATC and operating partner at Cambridge Capital, has been appointed a Commonwealth Trustee on the University of Pittsburgh Board of Trustees by Pennsylvania Speaker of the House Samuel H. Smith.

“Through the remarkable successes of GENCO, Herb Shear has emerged as one of this region’s truly accomplished business leaders and has earned an international reputation as a pioneer in the field of reverse logistics,” said Pitt Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg.  “Clearly, Pitt will benefit from his expertise on our Board of Trustees, and we are grateful to Speaker Smith for making this appointment.  Herb and Barbara Shear also have been committed advocates and loyal supporters of Pitt—creating, with their sons, the Shear Family Scholarship in the School of Pharmacy to honor Herb’s father and also providing major support for the Petersen Sports Complex.”

Since succeeding his father, Pitt alumnus Samuel T. Shear (PHARM ’30), as president of GENCO in 1971, Shear has grown his Pittsburgh family business into North America’s second-largest third-party logistics provider and one of the top 25 third-party logistics providers in the world. Started in 1898 by Shear’s grandfather, Hyman, as the H. Shear Trucking Company, the business added warehousing and public distribution to its capabilities, and, in the 1980s, GENCO became a world leader in reverse logistics—helping clients maximize the value of returned products through recall management, testing and warranty, repair and refurbishment, and product liquidation. GENCO’s clients include, in addition to the U.S. government, Fortune 500 companies in the health care, automotive, consumer goods, and consumer electronics industries.

Cambridge Capital is a private equity firm headquartered in Palm Beach, Fla.

Shear has been recognized with the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals’ Distinguished Service Award, the Salzberg Medallion from Syracuse University’s Whitman School of Management, and Ernst & Young’s Western Pennsylvania Entrepreneur of the Year award.  He was a member of the Defense Business Board and led its Supply Chain Task Group. 

Shear and his wife, 1973 Pitt Master of Education degree recipient Barbara S. Shear, have generously supported the University of Pittsburgh for years through donations to the University’s School of Pharmacy, School of Medicine, Cancer Institute, and Department of Athletics, as well as the general fund and other schools and programs. 

An emeritus board member and past president of the Greater Pittsburgh Food Bank, Shear and his wife were honored with the Individual Financial Donor Award during the food bank’s 20th anniversary celebration in 2001, and they received the Philanthropist of the Year award from the Association of Fundraising Professionals in 2005. Shear’s other civic affiliations have included MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger, as well as advisory positions with Northwestern University, the University of Nevada at Reno, and his alma mater, Southern Illinois University, where Shear earned his Bachelor of Science degree in marketing and finance in 1969. 

Shear was a founding member of the Reverse Logistics Executive Council, and he has served such other professional organizations as the International Warehouse Logistics Association and the Warehousing Education and Research Council.

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