Ralph Castner is the founder of Rush Creek Advisors and an expert in helping companies more successfully utilize capital and manage financial programs.
A certified public accountant and veteran of the CFO role at a publicly traded company, Ralph most recently served as the Chief Financial Officer of Bass Pro Shops*. Prior to working with the executive team at Bass Pro, Ralph led the finance team at Cabela’s from 2000 to 2017.
Executives at a number of companies - in a variety of industries - trust Ralph for his knowledge and experience as a leader in the payments, retail, and internet space.
In his 18-year tenure at Cabela’s, Ralph’s key accomplishments and duties included:
- Chartering Cabela’s wholly owned credit card bank (World’s Foremost Bank), the 14th largest credit card operation in the US in 2017 according to the Nilson Report, and helping grow their receivables from $300 million to over $5.5 billion in over 15 years, including responsibility for credit card issuing, financing, and securitization.
- Leading Cabela’s through their Initial Public Offering (IPO) in 2004
- Guided all aspects of Cabela’s finance organization, growing from $770 million in revenue in 1999 to $4.1 billion in 2016.
- Leading all financial aspects of the sale of Cabela’s to Bass Pro Shops in 2017.
Prior to leading the financial efforts at Cabela’s, Ralph served as an accountant at First Data Corporation for 10 years where he worked on card processing and credit card issuing within the payment processing space. This experience was key in helping Ralph lead as CFO at Cabela’s.
Ralph also served from 2014 to 2016 as a member of the Board of Directors and an Audit Committee member for Generac Holdings Inc, a leading designer and manufacturer of a wide range of power generation equipment and other engine powered products serving the residential, light-commercial, industrial, oil & gas, and construction markets.
Throughout the course of his career, Ralph has been responsible for all financial aspects of a public company, including capital budgeting, financial reporting, internal audit tax, and budgeting and forecasting. His responsibilities also included legal functions, retail site selection, and human resources.
*Ralph will not discuss confidential matters related to Bass Pro Shops and/or Cabela’s.