Gordon Brothers has been Rick Edwards’ professional home for his entire 30-year career, but even though his employer hasn’t changed, Edwards has driven tremendous evolution in the retail asset disposition and valuation space.

Rick Edwards has been with Gordon Brothers for his entire professional career. Starting in the late 1980s, just as Gordon Brothers began to grow its retail disposition business, Edwards joined the firm and was chosen to lead the analyst group to develop models and methodologies that Gordon Brothers could use in the asset disposition space.

Throughout his career, Edwards has worked cross-functionally within Gordon Brothers’ retail group to gain experience in operations, merchandising, valuations, finance and deal-making, giving him an overall perspective of the business and the industries it serves. Edwards has grown into a business unit leader with responsibilities for all facets of the retail disposition business at the firm.

Currently the head of North American retail at Gordon Brothers, Edwards focuses on sourcing new business and revenue generation while overseeing the operating strategies and valuation of all retail asset disposition projects within the region. In addition, he determines North American retail net orderly liquidation values for the company’s appraisal division. Still cross-functional, Edwards also works with other parts of the firm to develop comprehensive strategies for multi-asset transactions.

Edwards’ focus on retail has been a throughline of his career and led to some of his most noteworthy client engagements, as he has structured transactions for many of the most well-known brands in the U.S. These engagements have required Edwards to be more than just an asset disposition agent and instead provide a full suite of services to maximize the return for clients.

“My knowledge base is predominantly retail and can stretch into asset disposition, working with healthy, non-distressed retailers in terms of closing certain pieces or parts of their business or maximizing opportunities in terms of their merchandising strategies,” Edwards says.

Building on Decades of Experience

In his 30 years at Gordon Brothers, Edwards has gained a unique perspective on the asset-based lending and asset disposition industries, which have both grown dramatically and gained tremendous complexity.

According to Edwards, there are far more companies and products in these spaces than there used to be, and this paradigm shift has led to an evolution of valuation and appraisals. What has not changed is Edwards’ appreciation for his team.

“What I’m most proud of is working with a great group of people on my team. My tenure at Gordon Brothers is long and so is the tenure of a lot of the people I work with. They’re an incredibly talented group, and I love working with them,” Edwards says.

Edwards also is proud of the reputation he has built for himself through numerous successful transactions with a vast array of clients and partners.

“Lenders, advisors and clients know they can call, I’ll be open and transparent with them, and we have a mutual trust,” Edwards says. “It’s the personal relationships I’ve developed over the years that make me look forward to the future.”

Words of Wisdom

Edwards says he abides by a handful of tenants for his success. He advises his team to not be afraid to take risks and to own those risks. He also believes in trusting his teammates and allowing them to grow and develop. Finally, Edwards says honesty and transparency go a long way.

“It’s a small world out there, so you have to be open and yourself with people,” Edwards says. “Not everyone’s going to agree with you, and that’s OK, but you have to be transparent.”

Edwards also recommends listening to mentors and being open to doing more than just an assigned job. He thinks taking opportunities to showcase your talent or help your team will help advance your organization.

For developing client relationships, Edwards takes a long view, believing that every client engagement should be approached with the mentality that it will lead to more than just one deal.

“I don’t just take single transactions as a standalone,” Edwards says. “I view a transaction as an opportunity to partner with clients and develop a successful relationship that will develop more transactions down the road.”

Edwards looks at each individual detail of a transaction to understand the moving parts of a deal before developing a strategy to increase value, thereby blending the art and science of asset disposition.

“Because of my financial background, I understand the analytical side of the business, and it’s where my core skill set is,” Edwards says. “Having worked on thousands of transactions, I’ve developed the art side of the business as well. I come at it from both sides, and what’s unique is I can see how they blend together.”