Baton Rouge business executive Jim Bernhard, whose companies left a lasting imprint on Louisiana’s industrial and energy sectors, died Sunday after a brief illness, according to media reports. He was 71.
Bernhard built his reputation over more than 40 years, most prominently as the founder of The Shaw Group. What began as a pipe fabrication venture grew under his leadership into a global industrial services company with a place on the Fortune 500. He later stepped down as CEO after Shaw was acquired by CB&I in 2013.
Following the sale, Bernhard teamed up with former Shaw executives—among them longtime colleague Jeff Jenkins—to launch Bernhard Capital Partners. Today, the private equity firm ranks among the Gulf South’s largest, with more than $5 billion in assets under management and investments in energy services, industrial operations and utilities across the country.
His career also intersected with politics and philanthropy, and he was active in civic causes across south Louisiana.
For his impact in many arenas, Bernhard was recognized by Business Report as a Hall of Fame laureate in 2013. At Business Report‘s Power Breakfast in 2018, Bernhard delivered a powerful message about Baton Rouge, saying it has all the ingredients to become a proverbial great American city.
“The sad truth is that we don’t stack up. That’s a fact,” he said bluntly at the time. “So where are the missing links, and how do we do better?” He urged investment in K-12 and higher education, improving the region’s crumbling and inadequate infrastructure, and solutions for the city’s crime problem.
Bernhard is survived by his wife, Dana Bernhard, and his children Benjamin Bernhard, Michael Bernhard, Patrick Bernhard, Kathryn Gerry and Tres Bernhard, and eight grandchildren.
