Sam touchstone dreamed he would grow up to be an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps. But in officer's candidate school a knee injury drove him to change direction and discover accounting was what he was really meant to do.

• Author: Heffes, Ellen M.
• Position: BALANCE SHEET

FULL NAME Samuel E. Touchstone

TITLE VP Finance & Operations

COMPANY Ballard Designs, an omni-channel retailer (home decor and furniture) in Atlanta. Ballard is owned by Ohio-based Cornerstone Brands, which is owned by HSNi in Florida.

BORN Victorville, Calif., in June 1962. SPOUSE Malissa Carling Touchstone, for 23 years.

CHILDREN Two sons, Ryan, age 18, and Blake, 13.

EDUCATION SUMMARY LaGrange College, BA in History, 1985; Keller Graduate School, MBA (w/distinc:tion), in 2004; CPA, 2000; CGMA, 2012.

CAREER SUMMARY Porsche Cars North America, controller, 2001-2004; Books-a-Million, VP controller, 20042005; Home Depot Direct, director of finance, 2005-2008; Ballard Designs, VP finance & operations, 2008-present.

SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENTS Keller Graduate School - honored as one of 40 graduates (of 40,000) for its 40th anniversary celebration in 2013.

FEI CHAPTER Atlanta Chapter member, 2000-2004 and then again when back in Atlanta, 2007; member at large and joined the board of directors in 2012.. LEISURE I spend leisure time with family. I have a wonderful wife, who is my best friend, and two great sons. They play football and keep us active. We also love to fish while on our boat.

TIME MANAGEMENT I use the "Eisenhower" method of categorizing items as important and urgent, important and not-urgent, not important and urgent, not important and not urgent. It helps keep me focused on what I and my staff need to be doing.

STRESS MANAGEMI NT I really enjoy fishing, it is a quiet hobby most of the time. For my 50th birthday we spent a family week in Venice, La., "The Fishing Capital of the World." We caught redfish, tuna, wahoo and mahi-mahi. We also ran out of gas on the Mississippi River. It was memorable vacation.

FAVORITE BOOK I have enjoyed the Vince Flynn series of books. I met Vince and had lunch with him while he was on his first and second book tours. His books are detailed and exciting reads. Earlier this year, he passed away from a battle with cancer. He had a great writing gift that will be missed.

FAVORITE MOVIE For the Love of the Game. It is a great story about overcoming obstacles and sacrifices to achieve a goal and then realize we are less complete when alone.

FAVORITE MUSIC GENRE Country. IF I COULD, I'D SPEND ONE HOUR WITH My father-in-law (who passed away six months after our wedding) to...