Q&A with Ottawa Senators CFO Erin Crowe: An NHL pioneer

OTTAWA — Erin Crowe is the Ottawa Senators’ secret weapon.

She rarely does interviews, preferring to quietly get things done behind the scenes. And the hockey club’s chief operating officer and chief financial officer does get things done.

Crowe is the gatekeeper of the Senators' finances and a key player in the management team forging a new future for the organization, with plans to build a new NHL arena on LeBreton Flats land, west of Parliament Hill. 

Crowe spoke with Sportsnet.ca in a wide-ranging discussion, covering her ground-breaking career and the challenges she faced as a young woman in what had always been a man's game. In Part 2 of this feature, Crowe talks about life working with mercurial Senators owner Eugene Melnyk and how her primary focus is on getting the groundwork done for a new arena under the direction of new owner Michael Andlauer and president Cyril Leeder.

After earning a commerce degree at Queen’s University, Crowe was a promising young accountant at KPMG when then-Senators CFO Mark Goudie recruited her in 1996 to join the Senators as VP of finance. She was named the team’s CFO in 2003 and in 2009 became the Senators' alternate governor, executive VP and CFO. In 2015, Crowe left the organization to pursue other opportunities, but in December of 2021 she responded to a personal plea from an ailing Melnyk to return to help steer the NHL club’s finances out of a massive economic blow caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Melnyk died in March of 2022.

Crowed, married with two children, was named Ottawa’s corporate businesswoman of the year in 2009, CFO of the Year in 2022 and as recently as September was included on the Sports Business Journal’s list of the top 50 female ‘Game Changers’ in the world of sport.

I sat down with Erin Crowe at the Senators’ offices.

Did you play sports as a child?
I did. I played soccer. My daughter still plays. She’s 16. I have spent a lot of time driving around to different fields for soccer! (Crowe is on the board of directors for the West Ottawa Soccer Club)

If someone had told 12-year-old Erin she was going to grow up to be an executive officer with an NHL team, what would she have said?
I would have said: “No way.” Ottawa didn’t even have a team at the time. We would watch hockey as a family, but I wasn’t a big fan. It wasn’t something that was really in my DNA.

After joining the Senators organization in 1996 in the finance department, did you envision this career path to CFO and COO?
No. I mean, I joined thinking it was just another step in my career. And it wasn’t even a path I thought I would take, because I really felt I would do the partner route in a firm. That was my goal. But the opportunity came up with an NHL club and it was pretty exciting. You’re in your early to mid-20s, and it’s a good opportunity. I took the job thinking, OK, new experience. Mark Goudie (now president of OSEG, owners of the CFL Redblacks and OHL 67’s) was here at the time, he’s the one who hired me. He was a good person to work for, so, like, go for it. The organization changed so much over the years, it was just kind of easy to stay and keep growing with it.

What’s the biggest difference between working for private companies and a professional sports team like the Senators?
I think the lens you have to take when you’re in such a public organization is a little bit different. There’s the business, the financials and all of that, but you also have to look at it from a fan and a community perspective. Are we really doing the right thing for our fans? And I think with Michael Andlauer coming on board, he really does want to do what’s best for fans and that’s always top of mind. So that lens is prevalent. The fans are the ones buying our tickets and spending time here at the arena. We mean something to the community, right? So we’ve got to do what’s right. 

I assume it’s also different from the aspect of having a compelling game potentially happening that night when the office work is done. 
It’s tangible. When you tell people what you do, people understand it. People believe in it and think it’s exciting. 

Describe for us the reaction by the NHL Board of Governors to your first appearance as an alternate Senators governor in 2009?
Well, I think I’ve mentioned this before, but I remember walking in with Cyril and I’m sure people thought I was the EA, right? I was pretty young in ‘09, I would have been in my mid to late 30s. So, yeah, young female coming in and there were no other women at the table at the time. 

You were a pioneer at the NHL board level. Did you feel comfortable speaking among that group of men?
No! (Laughs). Even going to the Board of Governors meetings prior to our ownership change (last year), I wouldn't have felt comfortable. There’s actually very few people in that room who necessarily feel comfortable speaking up. From my perspective, there’s a group of people who are comfortable speaking and then there’s another group who are listening, learning and taking back what they’re hearing to their clubs. 

Unless asked a specific question, such as what is going on in Ottawa, with an ownership search or what have you?
Exactly. 

Have you faced a high degree of misogyny, sexism in your career? It can be difficult for women in management circles. 
Interesting question. I would say that early in my career, I really paid absolutely no attention to it. I just kind of kept my head down, did my job and didn’t worry about it. So I’m not sure I would have noticed it at the time. I think I’m more aware now of whether it’s happening or not and I’m also more able to manage it or call it out in a constructive way, right? So that others here are not feeling that same type of issue or perceived issue.

There also seems to be so much more awareness in society now. 
Well, and I think the NHL has also brought a lens to this issue. They’ve got some good initiatives. Kim Davis (Senior executive VP of social impact and growth initiatives) has brought a lot of awareness to all of this within the league. She’s done presentations to the board of governors. It takes time. You can’t right a ship overnight, but the awareness is certainly there, within the NHL and all professional sports. And you see the advent of the PWHL and the NWSL and WNBA — these women’s sports leagues are becoming bigger. Valuations are growing. Management is female, right? So, you see more of that, more awareness and more opportunity. 

You have an interesting vantage point from which to observe the explosion of females in hockey today — as professional players on the ice in the PWHL, but also in NHL management, scouting and for the first time, a coach on the bench (Jessica Campbell in Seattle). How does it feel on a personal level to have more women in the game?
Oh, I think it’s great. It’s something I’m very passionate about — not necessarily what the role is, specifically, but to see more females being successful. I love the fact there’s a woman behind the bench. I think that’s a huge step for any NHL team and really a demonstration that a female can be on the same level as the men. That’s a super big step. I’d love to see more female referees, and I know they’re working on that in the AHL. So, just continuing to see the progress is really important.

What’s the best advice you could give a young woman interested in a career in sport or finance?
Be persistent. If you know that’s what you want, find some connections, some mentors. Be willing to put some time in early in your career, maybe not doing the exact thing you want to do, but doing something within the business. Keep your eye on the prize. Keep your eye on what you want to achieve and continue working towards it. It’s not going to happen overnight but the opportunities are there, there’s no question. 

The Sports Business Journal just named you to their list of 'Game Changers,' 50 women who are leaders and innovators in the world of sport. What was your takeaway after joining these fellow high achievers at an awards ceremony and conference in late September?

You know what? It was an amazing experience. The ceremony was great, it was really neat to hear the stories of these women and it’s such a diverse group. From different sports — some in more behind-the-scenes roles, some front and centre in their leagues or sports. But it was really interesting, the day after the awards they did a day-long conference and just hearing some of these speakers and some of the things these females have done in the world of sport was really inspirational. I said to people, I wish I had 20 more years left in my career because I heard all these things I would like to go out and do — these opportunities that are there now. These women are taking on roles that have not been traditionally held by women, very senior roles in organizations and are having a major influence on what is happening there. They have worked hard to get there and are successful when they’re there.”

Tomorrow: Part 2. Life with Eugene Melnyk, a career change, and back to take aim at a new NHL arena for Ottawa-Gatineau.