Memorable Encounters and Humble Legends in Hockey

In this episode, CJ is joined by Kelly Mahncke, the CFO of USA Hockey, and the first CFO of a nonprofit to come on the show. They discuss the organization's business model and its revenue streams. Kelly emphasizes the importance of having a successful business whether it’s a nonprofit or not, and what she means when she says that there's no mission without margin. The conversation also covers USA Hockey's efforts to balance grassroots development with elite programs, the role of data and technology in enhancing operations, and the challenges of making hockey accessible to underprivileged communities. Kelly shares insights into the financial management of USA Hockey, including the for-profit and nonprofit aspects of the business, and how the four-year cadence of the Winter Olympics affects annual planning.

—

SPONSORS:

Tropic is an intelligent spend management solution that consolidates your spend data and processes into one unified offering, enabling insights and decisive action. It doesn’t just show you where the problems are—it helps you solve them. From spotting hidden optimization opportunities, like duplicative spend, to automating those painful procurement workflows, to giving you the best market data that turns every vendor negotiation in your favor. Tropic combines smart insights with real human expertise to keep you ahead of the curve. Visit tropicapp.io/mostlymetrics to learn how

RightRev automates the revenue recognition process from end to end, gives you real-time insights, and ensures ASC 606 / IFRS 15 compliance—all while closing books faster. Whether it's multi-element arrangements, subscription renewals, or complex usage-based contracts, RightRev takes care of it all. That means fewer spreadsheets, fewer errors, and more time for your team to focus on growth. For modern revenue recognition simplified, visit rightrev.com and schedule a demo.

Planful is a financial performance management platform designed to streamline financial tasks for businesses. It helps with budgeting, closing the books, and financial reporting, all on a cloud-based platform. By improving the efficiency and accuracy of these processes, Planful allows businesses to make better financial decisions. Find out more at www.planful.com/metrics.

Brex offers the world's smartest corporate card on a full-stack global platform that is everything CFOs need to manage their finances on an elite level. Plus they offer modern banking and treasury as well as intuitive expenses and accounting automation, bill pay, and travel. Brex makes it easy to control spend before it happens, automate annoying tasks, and optimize your finances. Find out how Brex can help you make every dollar count at brex.com/metrics.

Vanta's trust management platform takes the manual work out of your security and compliance process and replaces it with continuous automation. Over 9000 businesses use it to automate compliance needs across over 35 frameworks like SOC 2 and ISO 27001. Centralize security workflows, complete questionnaires up to five times faster, and proactively manage vendor risk. For a limited time, get $1,000 off of Vanta at vanta.com/metrics.

—

FOLLOW US ON X:

@cjgustafson222 (CJ)

—

TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00) Preview and Intro

(02:00) Sponsor – Tropic | RightRev | Planful

(06:23) The Companies Under the USA Hockey Umbrella

(07:50) Balancing Investing in Grassroots Development and Elite Teams

(10:01) USA Hockey’s Revenue Streams

(11:14) USA Hockey’s Data and IT

(13:07) Learnings from USA Hockey’s Data and Analytics

(16:38) Sponsor – Brex | Vanta

(19:10) Why Kids Should Try Different Sports

(20:03) Anecdotes About Hockey Players

(21:56) No Mission Without Margin

(23:40) The Most Surprising Line Items in USA Hockey’s Budget

(24:32) How the Winter Olympics Affects Annual Planning

(26:12) For-Profit Money in the Space

(29:14) The Business of Rink Ownership

(32:54) Making Hockey Accessible to Underprivileged Communities

(35:30) The For-Profit and Nonprofit Aspects of USA Hockey

(36:56) How Being a Nonprofit Impacts Hiring and Volunteers

(39:31) Lightning Round: Advice to Younger Self

(40:04) Technology at USA Hockey

(41:30) Finance Software Stack

(42:20) The Legacy Kelly Hopes to Leave