Rick Stone

Rick Stone - Gray Stone Aviation Advisors

Rick Stone, Senior Advisor, Finance

Rick Stone is a seasoned business leader of Gray Stone Advisors, having successfully served in Fortune 500 public firms as well as advising start-up private enterprises.

During his distinguished 33+ year professional career, he has held the positions of President, Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Controller and public accounting auditor and CPA. He was also a participant in the extended Harvard Business School Program for Management Development, 1994.

Rick combines being a quick study of issues and challenges, matched with his ability to identify the associated financial implications, while leveraging his skills as a collaborative leader.

His professional portfolio includes serving as the President of the Sea Ray Boat Group for 4 years and its CFO for 11 years. He also served for 5 years as CFO for the entire Brunswick Boat Group, comprised at one time of 26 brands and annual turnover in excess of $3.0 billion. Rick has extensive operational and financial experience in:

Durable goods manufacturing;
Wholesale distribution and marketing to a non-captive marketplace, and:
Global retail marketing of discretionary purchase luxury brands, navigating effectively through many varying economic cycles.
His unique and highly personable operating style builds strong and durable relationships at all levels of an organization as well as with that firm's key external stakeholders. Rick effectively guides the integration of new brands, either for his clients or as an operating executive, through careful yet swift planning, using 'whole systems thinking'. His collaborative leadership style enables the 'right-sizing' of manufacturing capacity and overhead structures, while simultaneously producing excellent financial performance and achieving the desired goal of enhanced market share.

Rick is adept at working with 'owner-operator' entrepreneurial clients as well as those in the C-Suite of large publicly held firms. He has successfully participated in numerous acquisitions, dispositions, startups and significant corporate turnarounds. He assists enterprises at the appropriate level where the full spectrum of his highly developed skills can be leveraged for the client's benefit, thus enabling them to achieve their operational and financial objectives.

Rick Stone balances his professional pursuits with his community involvement, including serving for many years on the boards of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra (Knoxville) and the Historic Tennessee Theater.

To schedule a meeting with Rick, please contact him at 865.357.5077 or send a request.