Chris Risey
Chris Risey received his BS in Finance from the University of South Florida in Tampa. He was twice named Academic All-American (USF Men’s Basketball) and is a former Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholar at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia.
Chris has spent his career helping growing companies and entrepreneurs plan for and use corporate finance strategies to raise capital and execute transactions in order to support growth, finance acquisitions, buyouts, or refinance debt. As a recovering CPA, Chris has found passion in using the same financing strategies and sources as investment bankers and equity firms in order to successfully secure business financing for his own clients, but without clients having to pay the high broker fees, or give away control of their businesses.
Mr. Risey is very active in many local civic and business organizations. He is an active speaker for Vistage International and Renaissance Executive Forums, Membership Director for his local chapter of the Knights of Columbus, past President and founding member of the Tampa Downtown Daybreak Rotary Club; past President and Member of Financial Executives International of Tampa Bay, and a board member for The Association for Corporate Growth Tampa Chapter. He is a long time member in a Mardi Gras Krewe in New Orleans. Mr. Risey is a Certified Public Accountant and a frequent speaker to industry groups, executive networks, and corporate meetings throughout the United States on business planning, strategy, and financing issues for growing companies.
Concurrent with Lantern Capital Advisors, Chris Risey served as a Vice President for Decathlon Capital Partners from 2019-2023. Prior to Lantern Capital Advisors, Chris Risey was Managing Director for Tunstall Consulting Inc. in Tampa, Florida, and was with the firm from 1997-2006. Mr. Risey left Tunstall Consulting after being with the firm for nine years to create Lantern Capital Advisors and provide his high growth clients with a more reliable and cost-effective corporate finance solution that would guarantee results and ensure client satisfaction. Mr. Risey has successfully helped Lantern Capital Advisors clients raise capital from a variety of institutions including banks, mezzanine and subordinated debt providers, venture capitalists, and underwriters. Prior to Tunstall Consulting, Mr. Risey was a CPA in the audit and advisory services group for Arthur Andersen in New Orleans, Louisiana.
What our Clients Are Saying...
“I spoke with multiple financial firms about the possibility of conducting a management buyout of a particular division. Most of them seemed more interested in developing a long term relationship with the parent company than they were in securing the best possible deal for me. I was then referred to Lantern Capital Advisors and things just clicked. They listened carefully to my vision for the business and patiently explained every step of the management buyout process. They met every expedited timeline and used their extensive network to find me the best possible investment group. I don't know that a deal would have been completed without their guidance. I would recommend Lantern Capital Advisors to anyone contemplating a similar transaction.”
— JR, CEO, Consumer Products Company
“I spent years doing research and speaking to advisors, investors, and banks. I could find no support for the kind of management buyout transaction I wanted to do and believed could be done. That is, until I stumbled upon Lantern Capital Advisors. Just one phone call to Lantern and I heard the words, "it absolutely can be done!" Lantern then helped me make it happen. I will be forever grateful to Lantern Capital Advisors for their counsel, expertise, and hard work in leading us to our goal.”
— DF, CFO, Full Service Call Center
What His Audience Is Saying
“Fantastic Information. I’ve never seen it before and every CEO should have this education.”
“Great presentation! I learned a lot and looking forward to presenting this at my next B of D Meeting.”
“Very good information presented in a very understandable format.”
“This is one of the best presentations I have seen this year, I found so much value in the way it was presented and in the usability of the information to absorb and reference in the future when an M&A opportunity, or growth proposition, might arise”.
“Chris is truly a Master of Capital Markets. His workshop kept the members of this 12 year old CE group fully engaged. They all said that it was the fastest three hour workshop they had seen. Our take away is that we will now add a couple of Risey slides to our Strategic Plans to assure we have a Financial Vision and projected Enterprise Value to support the exit strategy”
“Excellent and engaging. We all walked away with some new ideas and understanding of how we can take our financial planning methodology to a new level.”
“Chris is a true subject matter expert, bringing incredible knowledge coupled with real life case studies. Chris' humble, engaging style, and thoughtful manner were a hit with members.”
“Great presentation, great content, great discussion. Chris does a great job at explaining complex financial topics in an easy-to-understand way.”
“Excellent information for every business owner and CEO. Great tools for evaluation of your business. This is one of the best speakers we have had. His content is something that you don't get to hear about often, and his method of delivery keeps you engaged. I thoroughly benefitted from this session.”
Client Characteristics
Client Profile