St. Louis Character: Meet the executive Louligan, a CFO with a passion for soccer
Posted by St. Louis Business Journal on July 3, 2019:
Photo credits: Mark Gilliland
By Erik Siemers – Editor, St. Louis Business Journal
Jul 3, 2019, 12:10pm EDT
On a game day in Fenton's World Wide Technology Soccer Park, head down to Section 8, home to the St. Louligans. The supporters' group of United Soccer League club Saint Louis F.C. is hard to miss, anchored in the corner with their drum corps, the massive flags and the occasional plumes of blue and green smoke wafting in their midst.
Somewhere on the fringes, perhaps screaming from behind the goal or waving one of those flags, is one of the most vocal and noteworthy members of the bunch. He's a bald former Saint Louis University soccer player who's as loud and effusive as any of the Louligans, and he just so happens to also be the chief financial officer of a multibillion-dollar privately held company.
Tom Strunk is CFO of World Wide Technology, the St. Louis Scott Gallagher youth soccer club and Saint Louis F.C. He's also a key player in the team — led by Enterprise Holdings Foundation's Carolyn Kindle Betz and World Wide's CEO Jim Kavanaugh — that appears on the verge of landing a Major League Soccer club in St. Louis.
You're frequently hanging out with the St. Louligans at Saint Louis F.C. matches, where you're not afraid to scream your lungs out. Would you say you're an atypical CFO of a multibillion-dollar tech company?
I'm sure other CFOs have various outside interests. I don't want to compare myself that way. But I grew up playing soccer. I played at Saint Louis U, I played at Scott Gallagher growing up. When Jim (Kavanaugh) and I got involved in the youth club eight years ago and in 2014 decided to do this thing with Saint Louis F.C., I fell in love with it right away. The Louligans and my friendships there are a great byproduct. I do love going to the games and it's genuine fun and passion.