Stamford, CT The Ashforth Company’s board of directors has unanimously adopted an 18-month succession plan to promote Ryan Harvey to CEO effective January 1, 2024. Until that time Harvey will serve as co-CEO alongside Andrew Ashforth.
The company’s executive leadership transition commenced on July 1st of this year. At that time Darrell Harvey, who, with Ashforth, had served as co-CEO of The Ashforth Company for over 20 years, became executive chairman of the board and Harvey was promoted from chief operating officer to co-CEO, alongside Ashforth. In January 2024, both Darrell Harvey and Ashforth will become co-chairmen of the board and Ryan Harvey will become sole CEO. Ashforth will also remain president and CEO of A.P. Construction, the construction management division of The Ashforth Co.
Prior to joining Ashforth eight years ago, Ryan Harvey served as deputy associate counsel at The White House in Washington, DC. He began his legal career at Debevoise & Plimpton in New York City and later moved to Nashville, TN, where he served as a clerk to the honorable Gilbert Merritt of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. He then joined the Office of the Federal Public Defender in Nashville and was an Adjunct Professor at Vanderbilt Law School.
Harvey received his B.A. with Honors in History at Brown University and his J.D./M.A. in Legal History at the University of Virginia, where he was a member of the Virginia Law Review. He received his M.B.A. from the Columbia Business School Executive Program. Harvey serves as Treasurer and CFO of the Foundation for Society, Law and Art in South Africa. He is a member of the Connecticut and New York State Bars.
“Knowing that under five percent of family businesses survive the fourth generation and beyond, we are particularly proud that our family business is now in its seventh generation. Our succession plan has been an important priority of the company for many years,” said Darrell Harvey.
Andrew Ashforth said, “We are proud and excited for Ryan. Ryan has an extremely impressive background prior to working at Ashforth and we are highly confident that he will steer and lead our 126-year-old organization successfully into the future along with our talented leaders and colleagues.”
As co-CEO of The Ashforth Co. Ryan Harvey is focused on the company’s investments, office operations, and strategic planning. He also serves on the company’s executive, investment, compensation, and audit committees.