A Family Company That Buys Family Companies
Brian D. Ward
Founder & CEO · LinkedIn
Brian is a former corporate executive turned small business owner with more than twenty years of experience in strategy, marketing, and operations. His superpower is catalyzing strategic growth and unifying teams — building on prior success to scale businesses. It's why he founded Fourward Holdings.
He champions a simple conviction: a great business is never finished — it deserves a bold next chapter — and the people who built it deserve one that honors the work.
Beyond business pursuits and scouting for exceptional acquisitions, Brian is a devoted husband, father, avid surfer, advisor, and perpetually curious learner.
What we believe
Long term, for real
We don't evaluate acquisitions by their resale value, because we don't plan to resell. Decisions get made on a simple test: what's right for the employees and the enduring health of the company?
Self-funded & independent
Our capital is our own. No fund deadlines, no investor committees, no leverage that puts the company at risk. That independence is why we can promise what others can't.
People first
Life is bigger than work. The teams in our companies are treated like what they are — the reason the business is worth owning.
Operators, not spectators
We modernize systems, invest in equipment and people, and grow revenue the patient way. Our advisory bench spans finance, law, operations, and marketing — brought in as needed, never in the way.
Our secret sauce
Behind our family is something we don't advertise loudly: a quiet bench of trusted advisors who've been at this for decades — in finance and tax, M&A law, operations, marketing, and the industries we buy in. They've sat on both sides of hundreds of transactions, and they help us evaluate every deal, plan every transition, and grow every company we own.
We keep their names confidential — that's part of the deal, and frankly part of the value. What you should know is this: when you talk to Fourward, you're talking to a family company with institutional-grade judgment behind it. Small enough to care, backed deeply enough to execute.
Why "Fourward"?
We're a family of four, and everything we do points forward — for the businesses we buy, the people in them, and the owners who trust us with what they built. The name keeps us honest about both.
Curious what we own? See the portfolio. Wondering if your business fits? Here's what we look for.
Talk to Brian, not a call center.
Every inquiry is read and answered personally. That's the whole point of working with a family company.
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