About Us
Making the World a Better Place For All of Us
Our Story
“Your Mother went to heaven!” Those words broke the hearts of the four young boys listening on that dreary day in October of 1967. Our family bonds were born in adversity, strengthened by perseverance and we share a love that is unique as any snowflake. Our story started with Richard and Mary having four boys during times when people did not question whether they could afford four children. Our mother shared her love with us but left too early. She died of Leukemia suddenly during a curative process without the chance for goodbyes. Our father had just started a small export forwarding company and in her final year while raising four kids also kept the business running when he was in the hospital for a back operation.
As legend has it, Dick Bolte started BDP with a typewriter, a $1200 loan, and the determination to build the best service organization in the industry. Eventually, all four of us entered the business which had become knowns as BDP International. While BDP was growing so was our family and we welcomed Mike Connors, Bill Connors, and Robbie Bolte to our clan. All of us supported and help grow what had become our family business. We have all since married, some of us several times, and we have been blessed with__ (what is the number now?) children and grandchildren. It is with great pride that we watched them grow and carry on some of our traditions.
Over 52 years we ran the business and as it expanded globally and exploded with growth. A remarkable story that saw us start from humble beginnings but grow to one of the most respected global logistics company’s in the world. When we finally sold the business to Private Equity in 2018, we boasted over $2.7 Billion in revenues with over 140 owned offices and 5,000 teammates who called BDP a home. We made it a point to extend our family values to the business. We often said that BDP was a home not a workplace and that it was a family not a workforce. We treated people with dignity and respect and were rewarded with a business that indeed felt like a home to many who joined it.
After selling the business, we began thinking about ways to give back. While we did much philanthropic activity while running BDP, we could see this as a new challenge and a perfect way to share our blessings. Under the leadership of Frank Bolte, we will seek to find causes and opportunities to make the world a better place. We know the struggles of those who do not have enough, we know the fear of an uncertain future, we know by our own experience that small things mean a lot. If we can change the direction of just one life, it will be worth our efforts. Of course, we hope to support and contribute to many worthy causes in the coming years. We are encouraged that a new generation of our family will have the resources to remake the world as well. Recent times have underscored the importance of helping one another. The Bolte Foundation built with our family values will strive to do good work and good deeds. We hope the good words about our legacy will tell stories of the lives we changed for the better. We are on this new and purpose-built journey and welcome all to come along. The future can be better if we all work to make it so.
Francis X. Bolte
President of the Bolte Family Foundation
Francis (Frank) X. Bolte, is a former owner and member of the Board of Directors of BDP International (BDP), was the Company’s Chief Administration Officer (CAO). Frank and his brothers decided to sell the Family Business, which their father (Richard J. Bolte, Sr.) established in 1966, in late 2018.
As BDP’s CAO, Frank has responsibility for managing all of BDP’s leases in 40 countries as well as managing travel and conference planning for its employees. Over the course of his 35-year career with the firm, he has been involved in all aspects of its logistics, transportation, and supply chain management activities.
Frank is an active member of the Richard J. Bolte Sr. School of Business at Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, MD. He takes a personal interest and pride of being on the Make-A-Wish® Board of New Jersey as this is a mission close to his heart for the past 25 years. He is a former board member for 6 years and the sitting Chair of the Board of Directors for Make A Wish New Jersey for 3 years.
Raised to have a significant but quiet impact on the lives of others, it was a surprise to no one when Frank and his brothers became supporters of the Boomer Esiason Foundation, its mission, and its goal to help the cystic fibrosis community in the here and now. Frank was personally introduced to BEF in 2014 when he started attending numerous Foundation events.
He is a current member of the Boomer Esiason Foundation.
He is a graduate of Mount St. Mary’s University with a BA degree in economics and accounting. Frank lives in Moorestown, N.J. with his wife Deborah and their 6 children.
Richard J. Bolte
Chairman & CEO
Richard J. Bolte, Jr. was born in Philadelphia in 1957 and joined BDP International in 1973. Throughout his 46-year career with the company, he has held positions covering a broad range of the firm’s operations in global logistics and transportation.
Rich earned a BS Degree from Mount St. Mary’s College, Emmitsburg, Maryland, and has attended various management development programs, including the Wharton Business School and The Center for Creative Leadership.
His formative experience at BDP centered on ocean exports and supply chain management, with particular emphasis on company operations. Rich was Vice President of the company’s Northeast Region before taking the position of Chief Operating Officer. In 1996 he was named President of BDP International. During Rich’s first year as president, BDP’s dedication to excellence resulted in the company being named a recipient of The President’s E-Award for Excellence in Exporting, the highest US award for American exporters.
In 2006, Rich Bolte was named BDP’s Chief Executive Officer; and subsequently, in 2013 the Board of Directors appointed Rich as BDP’s Chairman & CEO. Rich championed BDP’s global expansion, and the company now employs 5,000 employees in 138 offices throughout 38 countries.
Rich has also served as a board member of Genco, Mount Saint Mary’s University, and is currently Chairman of the Board of Science History Institute (formerly Chemical Heritage Foundation).
Rich has three children Richard, Julia, and Tommy, and resides in Moorestown, New Jersey. He enjoys golf, jogging, reading, and writing poetry.