Today in the Sky Lounge we are joined by Ted Stone, a 72-year-old fractional CFO at TechCXO who's living proof that experience beats age in the business world. Ted shares insights from four decades of private equity deals, including rollups, spinoffs, and integrations that taught him every strategy in the playbook. He explains how the ""silver tsunami"" of baby boomer business exits is creating unprecedented opportunities for private equity firms, why ESOPs are emerging as attractive exit strategies, and how fractional executive work lets veterans stay in the game past traditional retirement. Plus, hear his incredible travel story about surviving not one but two helicopter incidents on a single business trip.
ABOUT OUR GUEST:
Ted is an experienced CFO who has worked with companies from start-ups to $2 billion global firms across technology-intensive industries including software, energy efficiency, logistics, and manufacturing.
He combines finance, operations, and engineering expertise to build transparent management systems and drive value creation through operational turnarounds, acquisitions, and growth opportunities. Ted's collaborative, low-ego approach bridges technology teams with business leaders, and he has extensive experience in capital raising, M&A transactions, and consistently helping companies outperform competitors in equity value creation.
CONTACT:
Email: ted.stone@techcxo.com
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/tedstonecfo
What is THE SKY LOUNGE?
Tales from the Sky Lounge takes you on a journey through business, consulting, and venture investing, hearing stories from the entrepreneurs, consultants, and investors shaping these industries.
ABOUT OUR HOST:
Todd Merrill is an experienced software executive who typically assists clients as a fractional or interim CTO and CiSO as a partner at TechCXO.
He has served in a series of companies as a C-Level executive focused on leveraging the Cloud to bring SaaS offerings to market. As an entrepreneur, turn-around expert, technology and product leader, and mentor, Todd has held full corporate P&L and product development responsibilities and directed diverse international teams of Engineering Managers, Mobile Architects, Developers, Dev Ops, QA, and Customer Success professionals.
Subscribe and turn on notifications to listen to new episodes as they launch!
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfeCS-Varb4gu2uCwyRTXWWEdP676Huh6
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6jz6ubcaUZ20Xh8TXhwzEN
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tales-from-the-sky-lounge/id1730134658
Amazon: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/4ba289a5-0d33-4589-95c7-83416731a864/tales-from-the-sky-lounge
Follow Tales From The SkyLounge on Social Media
X/Twitter: https://x.com/TFTSkyLounge
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tftskylounge/
Learn more about TechCXO: https://www.techcxo.com/
Production/Design: James Liebman
Music: Soundstripe/Cody Martin-Sunrise