Rick Snyder is Chief Executive Officer and founder of Ardesta, LLC. Located in Ann Arbor, MI, Ardesta is dedicated to the development of the "small tech" industry. In 1997, Rick founded Avalon Investments, Inc., a venture capital company targeted at investments in technology ventures. From 1991 to 1997, he served as Executive Vice President and then President and COO of Gateway, Inc. During his tenure with Gateway, the company grew from a privately held $500 million company to a NYSE traded organization with revenues in excess of $6 billion.

From 1982 to 1991, Rick was with Coopers & Lybrand (now PricewaterhouseCoopers). From 1982 to 1984, Rick served as an adjunct assistant professor of accounting at the University of Michigan. He studied at the University of Michigan where he earned bachelor of general studies, MBA, and JD degrees.

In addition to his community affairs work, Rick serves on the Board of Directors of Gateway, Inc., The Henry Ford, The Nature Conservancy (Michigan Chapter), Sphinx Organization, Ann Arbor Spark, and on the boards of a number of privately held companies. Rick also participates on various advisory board committees for the University of Michigan, and The NanoBusiness Alliance.