RICK FORD brings over forty-five years of automotive leadership to the growth capital conversation. As founder, president, and CEO of RFJ Auto Partners, he built one of the largest privately held dealership groups in the country, generating more than $3.5 billion in annual revenue. Under his leadership, RFJ delivered a 4.8x return to investors and merged with Sonic Automotive in a $750 million transaction. Through Ford Family Investments, he now manages a diversified portfolio across private equity, venture capital, real estate, and direct business ventures. He lives with his wife on Florida’s Gulf Coast and maintains a five-hundred-acre ranch in East Texas.