An Interview with T.J. LaMendola, CFO of Columbus Blue Jackets

Written by ACC 635 students Preston Buscher, Leah Cox, Rachael Miller, and Michael Morelli as a project for their financial leadership class; edited by Corrine Kidd

When someone says they are part of the financial profession, many people jump to stereotypical assumptions of a small cubicle and punching buttons on a calculator. Not many would think of walking into a hockey arena every day. This is the reality of T.J. LaMendola, the CFO of the Columbus Blue Jackets. This team is rather new to the NHL scene and is based on a strong financial foundation headed by LaMendola. Who is this person who has the final say in financial decisions that could make or break the organization?

A Unique Accounting Career Path

Growing up in Dayton, Ohio, LaMendola had a strong desire to do well for himself in life. This led him to Miami University, where he double-majored in Accountancy and Management Information Systems. Being the CFO of an NHL team was never on his radar at this point, as the most experience he had with hockey was playing intramural hockey with his fraternity brothers. Like many other accountancy majors, his goal was to start at one of the top accounting firms in the country.

After graduating in 1992, he reached this goal as he started at Deloitte as an auditor, and shortly thereafter he received his CPA. LaMendola enthusiastically recommends that young accounting students start in public accounting, as “…it teaches you a lot of good principles, basics, work ethic… exposes you to a lot of different industries and businesses that you might find that you like, that you may potentially want to move into one day.”

After moving on from public accounting, LaMendola found himself working as the Corporate Controller at an assisted living facility. Starting in public accounting as an auditor at Deloitte gave LaMendola many valuable experiences. In his move away from public accounting, LaMendola admitted his biggest challenge was changing roles from auditing the books every once in a while to “keeping the books, setting policy, and running the business.”

Looking to further his career, he put himself in situations where opportunities could present themselves to him. One such opportunity was becoming the Director of Finance for the Blue Jackets. Speaking of this chance, LaMendola said, “You can’t plan for it, but you can do the things that give you the best opportunity.” LaMendola likened this opportunity to winning the lottery. To conform to the norms set by other teams in the NHL, his title was changed to CFO, but he continued to have the same responsibilities.

LaMendola was able to take what he learned from his position at the assisted living facility and transfer it to his work as the CFO of the Blue Jackets. While assisted living facilities and an NHL hockey team are very different industries, LaMendola shared, “accounting is accounting, it just depends on what you’re accounting for… at assisted living, I was accounting for urinal cakes, and now I’m accounting for hockey pucks.”

Growth with the Columbus Blue Jackets

Beyond the need to account for hockey pucks is the requirement to help run the organization. The Columbus Blue Jackets are an expansion team in the National Hockey League, founded in 1997 and began playing in 2000. When the team started, Mr. LaMendola and other management were not just responsible for the team but the arena and everything that came with it, including utilities, shows, events, and security. That responsibility has changed over the years; now the stadium is its own entity and the team simply utilizes it.

Another factor the organization had to consider is the salary cap that was implemented in 2005. The current salary cap for the NHL is $82.5 million. From this amount, the Blue Jackets currently have $8.7 million of cap space. The team has a full roster of 23 players, of whom the highest-paid player is Johnny Gaudreau, making $9.75 million (CapFriendly.com). The Blue Jackets have yet to make the Stanley Cup Finals, with the quarterfinals in the ‘08-’09 season being the farthest they’ve reached. LaMendola, with the management team, aims to optimize the use of their financial resources to achieve the goal of winning the Stanley Cup.

Connections with ACC 635, Financial Leadership in Organizations

Throughout our group’s conversation with Mr. LaMendola, we found that the CFO of a professional sports team has a lot of responsibilities that relate to the classroom. The CFO of any organization must work with a variety of leaders in and outside of the organization. LaMendola exercises cross-functionality by working with other functional areas, including corporate sponsorship, general management, sales, and more. He also brings expertise to the role, which began in public accounting. His career path echoes the variety of skills and experiences that are discussed in class. The pivots in his career exemplify the learning curves and adaptability that accountants and other financial professionals seek to gain and overcome through experience and expertise.

Having been with the Columbus Blue Jackets since the beginning, LaMendola has helped shift the strategy from creating a brand-new team and organization to managing an established team. Strategy is an important topic in Miami University’s accounting curriculum. Measuring the execution of strategy is part of the foundation of any organization, and this task is performed by accountants.

LaMendola also discussed with us the importance of crisis management. During his tenure with the Columbus Blue Jackets, he has experienced a few disruptions to normal operations. During the 2004-2005 NHL season, a salary cap was imposed. This imposition leveled the playing field for newer teams to be able to compete with well-established teams for talent. However, this new rule changed how teams must go about structuring their finances. While LaMendola does not determine player compensation, he budgets the team’s available resources to enable general management to make these decisions. This salary cap disrupted the ordinary course of business and illustrates an example of how new regulations can change how organizations go about managing and allocating their resources.

Another crisis felt by LaMendola was the COVID-19 pandemic. This pandemic effectively shut down the sports world. Professional sports teams were impacted as fans were no longer able to attend games, resulting in a significant loss of revenue. LaMendola explained how he adapted to the shifting circumstances.

Advice for Students

LaMendola’s career path is something he never expected. He explained how he never dreamed of working for a professional sports organization, especially as an accountant. He advises students to be open to new opportunities. He explained how getting to know people within your organization and vicinity may lead to career changes you never imagined. He also explained that sometimes opportunities just fall into your lap. However, hard work and getting out of one’s comfort zone make a huge difference in the outcomes of a career.

He advises students to network and challenge themselves to forge their path. LaMendola stressed that you can’t be afraid to take risks and try new things. One quote that stood out to us was “you can’t play the lottery if you don’t buy a ticket”. As previously mentioned, he had very little knowledge of hockey or sports in general (he did not consider himself “a hockey guy”), but joining a large sports organization turned out to be an amazing decision.

LaMendola also mentioned the importance of face-to-face communication as opposed to virtual communication. Attending business events in Columbus was essential for Mr. LaMendola when making the connections that led him to his current position.