Partner Spotlight: Rick Fisher

Today, Managing Director Rick Fisher leads the Nashville region of global entertainment business management firm Gelfand, Rennert & Feldman, LLC (or GRF). Growing up, though, Rick originally set his sights on an entirely different field: medicine.

As a child, Rick had strong aspirations of becoming a medical doctor and potentially having his own practice. He grew up just a couple hours west of Nashville, Tennessee, and played football.

Upon graduating from high school, Rick chose to move away from Tennessee to attend Mississippi State University in Starkville, Mississippi. He received a football scholarship and settled into pre-med studies.

After a long first year of chemistry lectures and labs, however, Rick realized he wanted to pivot out of the medical track. He transferred to the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and pursued an accounting degree, instead.

“Science was not my thing,” Rick laughs. “My thought was to take over my father’s [construction] business once he retired. I believed accounting would provide a good overall business education.”

Once he had completed his undergraduate education, Rick shares that a classmate joined a local business management firm in Nashville that specialized in the music business. Intrigued, Rick decided to follow suit.

“Their firm was hiring and I was open to it. I thought Nashville and the music business sounded interesting,” he recalls. “It’s kept my interest throughout my career.”

Rick met his wife Rosemary, a Nashville native, shortly afterward. Rick credits her for pushing him to pursue his Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license, a designation that has allowed him to continuously grow in his career ever since.

Looking back, Rick has some advice for recent college graduates who may be contemplating the CPA for themselves.

“If you think it’s something that you want to do, don’t delay sitting for the exam,” Rick recommends.

“When I finished school, the last thing I wanted to do was to continue studying for the exam. Much at the urging of my wife, I bit the bullet and pushed through to pass.”

After a handful of years at the boutique business management firm, Rick was introduced to renowned Music Manager Gary Haber of Haber Corporation through a friend.

Gary also had a small but growing presence in Nashville at the time – and Rick seized on the opportunity to learn and grow from a well-versed expert in the field.

Rick continued to scale the ranks of Haber Corporation’s Nashville office through the years, learning under mentor figures and expanding his knowledge of the entertainment business, especially for music-oriented clients.

After Gary’s sudden passing in 2014, Rick remained with the firm and Haber Corporation soon merged with GRF. Rick was promoted to the title of Managing Director, becoming a partner at GRF.

He notes several factors affected his decision to stay at GRF, including its collaborative environment in which knowledge and ideas are freely shared between the Firm's network of ten office locations.

“Having worked at other firms, some of the more important differences that I notice are the resources available within GRF. We have experts in royalties, foreign and domestic taxation, touring and insurance – all important aspects of our clients’ lives – and they are all a phone call away,” Rick says.

Utilizing the Firm's internal resources is also helpful for personal growth and development, something that Rick believes is vital to GRF's ongoing success.

"Take advantage of the resources that are available to you at GRF, whether it be the experience of the person that you report directly to or the partner who handles accounts that you work on or someone who works in one of the many divisions [and] departments in which you might have interest," he advises.

"I think everyone at GRF is more than happy to share their experience."

During the pandemic, Rick enjoyed more time in the great outdoors. He and Rosemary had three remaining children at home who share his passion for kayaking, fishing and other outdoor activities.

The “Partner Spotlight” series introduces our firm’s Managing Directors, highlighting their continued learning and development through the years. We hope their stories serve to motivate and inspire the next generation of Gelfand, Rennert & Feldman leadership.