Sterling Lanier

Hillsborough, CA



My business experience

I have more than 30 years of CEO leadership and management experience in specialty retailing, manufacturing, software and financial services. This includes service as a former CEO of Record Factory, Inc., a $40 million retail chain; as co-founder of Compu-Base Software and GardenHome, a home furnishings retailer; and as founder of Interim Executive Management, a consulting firm providing interim hands-on CEO leadership for privately held companies.

My Vistage experience

I was a member of a Vistage Chief Executive group for five years. I have been a Vistage Chair for six years, facilitating three groups (Chief Executive, Small Business and Trusted Advisor).

My experience as a Vistage member changed my life. My goal as a Chair is to touch my members as much as my Chair and my fellow group members touched me.

A company has only one truly unique differentiator—its CEO. A Vistage group provides the edge which enables the CEO to become the best leader possible.

My Vistage groups

Members of my Chief Executive group include leaders in a wide range of industries: commercial construction, financial management services, strategic marketing consulting, commercial insurance, e-mail security software, real estate development, IT services and other fields.

The Small Business group includes leaders of firms in architecture, water damage clean-up and restoration, computer network monitoring and hosting, pension fund investment advisors, fiber optic cable networks, office furniture, elder care health, software development and personal wealth management.

Who is the “ideal” Vistage member?

Men and women who thrive in my Vistage groups are:

  • Committed to growing their businesses
  • Committed to learning and personal development
  • Committed to trying new ideas to achieve growth
  • Willing to focus their skills on themselves for personal growth
  • Eager to use their skills to help group members become better CEOs
  • Prepared to speak the truth
  • Ready to hear the truth

More about Sterling Lanier

I am affiliated with the Coyote Point Museum for Environmental Education. I am fluent in Italian and enjoy photography and travel.

I graduated from Vanderbilt University with a BA in English and have an MBA from Georgia State University.