Former San Diego Padres CFO, Ronda Sedillo, Lectures on Company Culture, Financial Implications of Sporting Decisions

As part of the SDSU Sports MBA curriculum, students take two semesters focused on personal and professional development. In these sessions, the cohort works through a number of areas of curriculum aimed at developing professional skills such as negotiation techniques, personal branding and interview practice, as well as developing leadership and management skills that help develop and foster strong company culture and positive working environments.

Although her expertise lies in financial accounting systems and their implementation in one of the most lucrative sporting businesses in the world, Ms. Sedillo was also able to shed light on the variation in culture and attitudes at the Padres, driven particularly by various changes in ownership and leadership throughout her tenure. As a very fast-paced organization, it was imperative that as the CFO, Ms. Sedillo was very aware and analytical of the financial implications of all decisions made on the sporting side, including the decisions to sign multiple superstars to $300M+ contracts in decade-long deals. Just as important, however, was her role as one of the leaders in the organization responsible for setting the front office’s cultural norms. As the students are about to enter the sports business world in a full time capacity, it was fantastic to hear about the practicalities of her job and its effect on the overall success of the Padres.

Thank you to Sports MBA’s Professional Development professor, Mark Lindner, for arranging for Ronda Sedillo to visit with the Class of 2023. We appreciate her longtime dedication to the program; it will certainly not be the last time the SDSU Sports MBA program works with her!