The owners of Applewood Manor, Stephen Collins and Robin Ritchey Collins, both attended the University of Alabama. But they did not connect as a couple until about 1991 after both had moved to New York City to launch their careers, Robin in commercial interior design and Stephen as a CPA with Price Waterhouse (now PwC). Robin is from Birmingham, Alabama, part of a large extended family of Ritcheys and their Melkite Greek Catholic Church community. Robin is an avid tennis player and loves baking—we’re talking serious commercial ovens that turn out wonderful and delicious breads and other treats. As the couple moved from city to city and from the USA to Europe and back again, she has had to put her design skills to work, and now that includes restoring the Applewood Manor to its former glory.
After Stephen and Robin had started their family, they moved to Westport, Connecticut. Two things happened, 9/11 and my cancer diagnosis. The family, which now included three girls, returned to Stephen’s hometown, the Nashville suburb of Franklin, Tennessee, and Stephen took over the operation of my company, Juris, Inc. so I could concentrate on fighting cancer. The significant growth of the business under his leadership attracted the attention of the international company, LexisNexis, and Stephen guided the company through LexisNexis acquisition of Juris in 2007. Stephen and Robin’s next adventure was in Austin, Texas where Stephen took on leadership roles in Bazaarvoice. Next, it was San Francisco where Stephen became President of Quantcast. After that, he became CEO of Monetate in Philadelphia.
During these years, Stephen continued to find time for cycling, and on an amateur level, competed in the sport. He became an investor in Chris Carmichael’s operation, training professional cyclists. His love of the sport sent him to France to ride some of the Tour de France routes and eventually he and Robin purchased a villa in Provence, La Petite Colline de Roussillon—the retreat they visited several times a year and the base for cycling excursions. Back in the states, the couple picked Asheville as the place to settle down and retire from high pressure corporate leadership positions. The idea was to split their time between Asheville and their France retreat. While the plan had been for Stephen to limit his future corporate activities to board membership and mentoring executives, the commercial world came calling again. In 2021, he joined Phantom Auto as Chief Financial Officer.
The groundbreaking Phantom Auto challenge was right up Stephen’s alley as a nationally recognized business leader in developing, disruptive and rapidly growing markets. The company provides software that enables humans to remotely operate all types of unmanned vehicles from thousands of miles away, including forklifts, tuggers, robots, trucks, cars, and more. Headquartered in Silicon Valley and with an R&D center in Tel Aviv, Israel. Having successfully led the emerging company through a fifty million dollar Series B, second round of funding, he is now looking forward to getting back on tract to reducing corporate activity to board membership while he and Robin focused on making Applewood Manor the premier bed and breakfast and event space in Asheville focused on cycling, culinary and business leadership programs, and services.
The couple has always loved meeting people and sharing their knowledge and skills with others. Robin enjoys baking and Applewood guests are treated to her wonderful breads and cookies. And she is always ready and eager to help when Applewood Manor is selected for a wedding event. Stephen is an avid wine collector and during his travels he has dined in some of the best restaurants around the world. He enjoys recreating some of their dishes and pairing them with the perfect wine to the delight of guests. He and Robin draw on their dining experiences in France and Spain to bring world renown guest chefs to Applewood for the Manor’s highly anticipated Culinary Events. As a competitive cyclist Stephen, knows who-is-who in the cycling world and brings some of the top professionals to Applewood for cycling events that draw attendees from across the country. And, of course, Applewood Manor is a perfect spot for business leaders to refine business strategy or hone leadership skills. The Manor provides a private and intimate setting for leadership teams, both management and board directors, to come together for team building and learning. Stephen is a sought after host or guide for such sessions, including his Language of Excellence sessions.