After joining Gardner Business Media, Inc. in September 1963, Rick became District Manager of the Detroit area. He returned to Cincinnati in 1977 as Marketing Manager and was named President of Gardner Business Media, Inc. in 1981 and presently serves as Chairman, CEO. Currently, Rick also serves on the Board of the American Precision Museum. Rick is the grandson of the company's founder Don Gardner. Five of Don Gardner’s six great grandchildren (the 4th generation) work for Gardner. And in 2020 the first great, great-grandchild (5th generation) joined the family business.

Since 1928, Gardner Business Media has been the premier publisher for the heart of manufacturing in North America - the plants, shops, factories, and the people that make them work. Gardner Business Media, Inc. (formerly known as Gardner Publications) was founded in 1928 in Cincinnati, Ohio, with the introduction of Modern Machine Shop (MMS) magazine -- the premier Metalworking and Machine Tool publication in North America. Since then, Gardner built a niche in one area: manufacturing. Gardner publishes Additive Manufacturing, CompositesWorld, MoldMaking Technology, Plastics Technology, Production Machining, Products Finishing, as well as Modern Machine Shop (eight leading magazines in their fields). Most recently, Gardner is expanding international offerings to include Modern Machine Shop Mexico, Plastics Technology Mexico, and Products Finishing Mexico.

Gardner also has developed Map Your Show (MYS) which provides tradeshow mapping applications and solutions including online floor plans and agenda builders, as well as onsite product locator kiosks, and printed maps and directory products.