Scott Ford Joins Leadership of Arcane Industries as CEO Michael Hickmon Departs

Scott Ford, CEO of Westrock Coffee (Photo provided by Westrock Coffee)

Plastics manufacturer Arcane Industries of Little Rock recently announced the departure of founder and CEO Michael Hickmon following a “series of strategic investments” from shareholders.

Private equity firm Aventurine Partners of Houston, Texas, and the family of Westrock Coffee Co. CEO Scott Ford led the investments. Ford, the former CEO of Alltel Corp., filled an Arcane board seat vacated by Hickmon.

Arcane did not name a new CEO. In a news release, the company said it will “continue operating under the leadership of its growing executive team and its Board of Directors.”

The company, formerly known as Arcane Capital Partners, said Hickmon stepped down to focus full-time on building Hix Capital, an investment firm focused on the industrials sector. “This is a strategic next step for me,” Hickmon said in a statement. “Arcane has been an incredible journey. I will always be a champion of the business and the incredible team behind it.”

Hickmon launched Arcane in 2021 as a private investment firm focused on streamlining operations and growing the market presence of specialty plastics manufacturers.

Arcane’s portfolio includes Johnson Manufacturing of Harrison, Arkansas; Bentonville Plastics of Bentonville, Arkansas; PolyTech of Prairie Grove, Arkansas; Petroflex North America of Gainesville, Texas; and Wescon Plastics of Wichita, Kansas.

The acquisitions of Petroflex and Wescon had a combined price tag of more than $100 million. Financing came in part from Aventurine Partners under a deal that added Markus Specks, the Houston firm’s CEO, to the Arcane board of directors.

As part of Arcane’s leadership shake-up, Jess Cole was named CFO. Cole joined the company in February. His past roles include CFO of clean fuels project developer Nacero Inc. of Houston, Texas, where he led capital raises, financial operations, commercial structuring and sustainability initiatives.

Cole has also held leadership roles in investment banking and corporate finance at Jefferies Group and Cadence Bank.

In another move, Arcane named Shea Halligan as chief strategy officer. Halligan joined the company in 2023 and has contributed to several of its recent acquisitions and integration initiatives, Arcane said in the release.

Halligan previously held strategic and financial leadership roles at Westrock Coffee Co. and Westrock Asset Management LLC, Ford’s alternative asset management firm.