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Who's who: Ralph Clinard

The story of Cardtronics CEO Ralph Clinard's journey from the oil business to ATMs in Houston is a real riches-to-rags-and-back-to-riches-again story.

March 20, 2006

Ralph Clinard grew up on a farm in Tennessee, and his mother was the quintessential farm housewife – she raised six children, made her own soap and butter and helped with the chores every day. Pearl Clinard also knew how to succeed, and she impressed that knowledge upon her children often.

"Stick to your knitting," was her advice. To Ralph, that meant his road to success would be easier if he focused his attention on one thing at a time.

"If she said that once, she said it a thousand times," said Clinard, who is now president and chief executive officer of Houston-based Cardtronics, an ISO with 7,300 ATMs deployed throughout the U.S. "But that was how she grew up. She knew what was right and what one should do to be a good person."

After college, Clinard landed a job at Exxon in Houston and stayed for 29 years before accepting a lucrative retirement package. He wasn't the retiring type however, and spent the next few years of his life living a riches-to-rags-and-back-to-riches-again story.

Following his retirement from Exxon in 1986, Clinard invested in real estate and restaurants in Houston, then settled in to enjoy life. But his upscale French restaurant La Bonne Abuerge (the "Good Inn") and his other businesses fell victim to an economic climate that was especially harsh in Texas. Clinard lost more than $1 million in three years.

"We had one of the city's finest French restaurants," he said. "Our chef used to cook for King Hussein. The problem was the timing. The oil business went into a steep decline, and that was the Houston economy back then. Suddenly, there weren't many people who could go out and pay for French food."

People moved out of town to find new work, leaving his real estate properties empty. But Clinard doesn't make excuses.

"I have to take the blame because I came out of Exxon thinking I knew business," he said. "I proved to myself I didn't know the real world."

Clinard knew the time had come to refocus and start over. Retirement would have to wait again. "We lost a lot of money," he said. "I decided, 'Nobody is going to give it back to me, so if I'm going to get it back, I've got to go to work.'"

His first break came when he was liquidating restaurant equipment – "so I didn't have to look at it anymore," he said – and he offered to sell back a credit card terminal and printer to the person he had purchased it from. That transaction led to Clinard's decision to enter credit card merchant services in 1989.

After a few years in the credit card business, he designed, developed and in 1995 patented his own scrip machine – a simple device aimed at small, independent convenience store owners – which helped lift his business.

While his scrip machine was successful, more merchants became interested in ATMs as prices dropped. He decided to begin selling ATMs in 1996, the year that surcharging became widely accepted after Visa and MasterCard lifted their regulations banning the fees. It was a big year for ATMs, and a big year for Cardtronics and Clinard.

"Coincidentally, that same year was when I decided, 'If I'm going to be successful in this business, I want to get some talent in here.' So I brought it in a lot of bright people and gave them stock in the company to join forces with me," he said. "That amounted to about 25 percent of the company. It's probably one of the best things I ever did to make this company successful."

One of those talented people was Clinard's son, Mike, who now serves as chief operating officer and heir apparent to his father.

"He's a good hard honest worker that pays attention to detail and puts the customer first -- and the employee first as well," Mike Clinard said of his father. "In this business, there are lot of people that are more worried about the big deals rather than the success of each location. To this day, we look at each location and what we can do to make it successful."

While Clinard built his business primarily by serving small retailers, last year's acquisition of McClane FSP, the ATM arm of the McLane Company, added some high-profile clients to Cardtronics' portfolio and signaled the company's intent to go after the bigger corporate accounts.

Several of McLane's contracts were with large oil companies such as Sunoco, Phillips Petroleum and Hess. While just 15 years ago it was those oil companies' financial woes that sent Clinard's finances into a downward spiral, now they're keys to the success of his business.

"That is ironic; I never thought of that," Clinard said with a chuckle. "To be serving major oil. … Now I would like to get a relationship with Exxon so I can go full circle."

Clinard hopes to increase Cardtronics' portfolio from 7,300 ATMs to 10,000 by year's end. The company's revenue in 2000 was $26.2 million, and according to Executive Vice President of Corporate Services Doug Deitel, that number should top $50 million for 2001 once final numbers are tallied.

Ralph Clinard President and CEO, Cardtronics Birthdate: Oct. 31, 1933 Birthplace: Springfield, Tenn. Residence: Houston, Texas Education: BS in math and mechanical engineering from Muskingum College/Penn State University, 1957 Resume: Various positions with Exxon, 1957-86; restaurateur and real estate entrepreneur before founding Cardtronics in 1989 Family:Wife Laura, son Mike, twin daughters Korinne and Kristi, daughter Andrea Key quote: "Stick to your knitting"

Clinard is proud of the recognition the company has earned. It was selected to Inc. Magazine's 2001 list of the country's 500 fastest-growing companies and has been named to the Houston 100, an annual roster of the city's fastest-growing companies, for three straight years, reaching No. 11 last year.

Clinard will turn 70 in about 18 months, which is also the target date for his second, and final, retirement. Mike Clinard will take over so his dad can take it easy, not something Ralph Clinard is noted for at Cardtronics.

"There's a tremendous work ethic here," Deitel said. "I get here at 6:30 a.m. and the parking lot is full. Sometimes Mike is here at 4:30 or 5. Ralph usually gets here about the same time I do. It's not uncommon for them to stay until 9. Ralph lives on a golf course – I bet he hasn't even swung a golf club yet."

Clinard admits that, yes, after a year and a half living on a golf course, he has yet to tee off even once.

"My son is always saying, 'Why don't you get out there and play?'" he said. "I say, 'Mike, I don't have time for that. Golf takes a lot of time.'

"But," he continued, "our back yard overlooks the first fairway. I get a lot of balls in the yard, so I put them all in a bucket in the kitchen. I'll probably just lose them all back – there's a lot of water on that course."

Asked to name his key accomplishment, Clinard said, "Taking this thing from scratch, where we in effect were in the hole financially, and to have gone from that to where we are today. We have a few dollars in the bank and have a thriving business. We timed it exactly right to go into ATM machines, and then the timing to bring additional talent in was just about right. I'm proud of the way I've grown this company, and I couldn't have without bringing that talent in."