COLUMBUS – The Columbus Crew today announced it has hired Lori McKirnan, CPA, MBA as the Crew’s Vice President of Finance and Business Planning. McKirnan is responsible for all finance and accounting, human resources and information technology for the Black & Gold. With 15 years of professional experience, McKirnan joins the Crew to build upon her background in financial accounting and reporting, financial planning, budgeting, insurance and contract management.
“The Crew is thrilled to add Lori to our senior executive team,” said Crew Chairman and Investor-Operator Anthony Precourt. “The first female senior executive in Crew history, Lori is extremely talented and bright, and her work is already being felt within our organization. We look forward to her continued contributions with the Black & Gold.”
McKirnan has called Central Ohio home for the last eight years and arrives at the Crew from Capital University, where she served as Associate Vice President, Business and Finance and Assistant University Treasurer. She joined Capital in September of 2007 as Director of Business Services and was promoted in 2009 and again in 2012. There, some of her main assignments included preparing and monitoring the annual University operating budget and capital project budgets while also preparing financial models and yearly revenue and expense projections. Additionally, she supervised Conference and Dining Services, Mailroom and Bookstore departments.
Before joining Capital University, McKirnan served as the Financial Planning Manager for The Columbus Dispatch from 2006-2007, preparing and maintaining annual budgets for the newspaper.
It was her position at The Dispatch that brought her to Columbus after spending four years with the National Football League’s Atlanta Falcons as Finance Manager. In her final two years in Atlanta, she also served as the Controller for the Arena Football League’s Georgia Force. Simultaneously, she prepared and maintained yearly budgets for the Falcons and the Force. She also prepared and facilitated audits, worked on player expense projections and ticket pricing models, reported to the NFL regarding compliance of the team with the Collective Bargaining Agreement and was responsible for set-up and maintenance of financial systems of Atlanta Falcons Retail, LLC.
McKirnan began her career in the Atlanta office of Big Four accounting firm Ernst & Young, LLP in their audit practice from 1999-2002 after graduating from The Max M. Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University in 1998. She became a Certified Public Accountant in 2000 and earned her Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Capital University in 2013. McKirnan lives in Worthington with her husband, Hale, and children Micah (2-years-old) and Reid (9 months).
The Crew (3-1-0, 9 points) returns to action on Sunday, April 13 with a road test at the San Jose Earthquakes (3:00 p.m. ET / UniMas, Time Warner Cable SportsChannel).
