Gary Burden

Introduction

Gary Burden is an Ohio native, West Point graduate, former Airborne Ranger, and Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA®) who has built his career around one central idea: strong businesses create opportunity, strengthen communities, and carry legacies forward.

Today, Gary serves as Principal of Business Stewardship Group (BSG), the successor to Ohio Valley Business Advisors (OVBA). BSG reflects the evolution of his work from traditional business brokerage into a broader stewardship model focused on value growth, continuity, succession, and well-prepared business transitions.

Gary earned a Bachelor of Science in Systems Engineering with a minor in Leadership from the United States Military Academy at West Point. Achieving his youthful goal of becoming an Airborne Ranger gave him an early foundation in discipline, leadership, and mission-focused decision-making. Over time, he came to believe that many of the forces shaping America’s future would be found in the economy - especially in the work of small and closely held businesses creating jobs, innovation, and opportunity.

That conviction redirected Gary’s professional mission toward helping business owners make sound financial and strategic decisions. After working with four financial planning firms, he founded Financial Stewardship Group with the mission "to sow the seeds of financial freedom through wise counsel, one person and one business at a time." His early marketing work as a solo planner contributed to the successful sale of four businesses within eighteen months, revealing a natural fit for business transitions and owner advisory work.

Gary later joined Ohio Valley Business Advisors, where he worked with family-owned and closely held companies on succession, transfer planning, market analysis, strategic positioning, and relationship-driven introductions. When OVBA founder Lee Huff retired in 2022, Gary acquired the firm, giving him firsthand experience with the financial and emotional realities of becoming a business buyer himself. Since then, he has guided more than twenty business owners through successful transitions and has watched several former buyers later resell their companies - in some cases for more than three times their original purchase price.

The transition from OVBA to Business Stewardship Group is a natural continuation of that experience. Gary’s work increasingly begins long before a company is ready to sell. Through BSG, he helps owners understand what drives transferable value, strengthen the business they have built, prepare for continuity, and approach a future transition with greater clarity and confidence. The firm’s guiding message - "Build Value. Land Strong." - captures Gary’s belief that a successful transition is not simply a transaction; it is the result of thoughtful preparation, responsible stewardship, and a clear destination.

Gary previously earned the Certified Financial Planner™ designation and is now a Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA®). He brings analytical discipline, practical transaction experience, and a stewardship mindset to every engagement. He also served nineteen years as Treasurer of the West Point Society of Northern Ohio and received Rotary International’s Paul Harris Fellow recognition for his service.

Gary and his wife, Jennifer, live in Hiram, Ohio, where they homeschooled their six children on a small family farm raising grass-fed beef, dairy goats, and pastured poultry. They now enjoy time with their six grandchildren. The Burden family worships at The Church at Troy. Gary is a lifelong student of Scripture, a proponent of Austrian economics, and an advocate for the business owners whose risk-taking, perseverance, and ingenuity keep communities and economies moving. His personal interests include reading and backpacking.