We congratulate our 2025 Deal Maker honorees!

Now in its 25th year, the Deal Maker program recognizes outstanding organizations and individuals with proven track records of leadership, innovation and success through the art of the deal. Each of the winners has, in some way, challenged conventional thinking in order to drive growth in their organization and the business community. The program focuses primarily on transactions and growth within the last 18 to 24 months.

The Deal Maker Awards Program is one the most prominent business events in the city.

2025 Honorees

Click on logo to learn more. Check back regularly for updates.

2025 Lifetime Achievement Award

Larry Stoddard

As the former President and Chief Executive Officer of RelaDyne, Larry Stoddard was responsible for driving and executing RelaDyne’s transformational business strategy from an independently run distribution business to an integrated branch network of lubricant, fuel, and reliability services supply through the U.S. Beyond his extensive experience running distribution businesses, Larry brought to RelaDyne a strategic focus on the development and growth of value-added services. Accordingly, he was passionate about driving the evolution and delivery of RelaDyne’s Reliability Services line of business.

A high-energy, results-driven business leader, Larry has a proven track record of nearly three decades of management success along with a respected reputation for significantly improving operational productivity and customer service.

Prior to RelaDyne, Larry served as Chief Executive Officer of Bradco Supply Corporation, one of the nation’s largest roofing supply companies, which was acquired by American Builders & Contractors Supply Company (ABC Supply). At Bradco he was responsible for developing people and systems across brands to improve business and to increase the company’s value and profitability.

During much of his career, Larry was involved and a driving force in the growth of Ferguson Enterprises Inc. in Newport News, Virginia, a subsidiary of Wolseley, PLC, in Theale, England. Ranked today as the largest plumbing wholesaler in North America, the company grew during his tenure from $140 million in revenue to more than $8 billion. During that time, Larry managed strategy, teams, training, operations and acquisition integration and was responsible for P&L for much of the company’s branch network. He was also involved in the development of their distribution center network and helped lead a logistics program for industrial warehousing and shipping that rivaled the speed and flexibility of leading consumer retailers. Prior to his departure, Larry was serving as COO of Wolseley, a $34 billion distributor with operations in North America, Europe, and the Far East.

Other career highlights include serving as President of the standard products division of Mueller Industries in Memphis, Tennessee, where he managed the company’s largest and most profitable division. Larry also serves as chairman of the family-owned business, Crescent Electric Supply, a large regional electrical distribution company in East Dubuque, Illinois.

You are using Internet Explorer. IE is an outdated browser with serious security risks and is not supported by this website.

Please follow the link below to find downloads for several other updated browsers.

Find New Browser