Meet john COPPOLA 
Meet John Coppola! John recently joined the Enterprise in August as the Executive Vice President (EVP) and Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Coppola earned a Bachelor of Business Administration (Accounting) and a Master of Business Administration (Finance) from Loyola University Maryland. Coppola is a lifelong resident of Anne Arundel County.
Q. Introduce yourself, tell us your career path and how it lead you to USNA A& AF?
After graduating with both a BBA in Accounting and an MBA in Finance from Loyola University Maryland, I spent seven years at Ellin & Tucker in Baltimore as an accountant/consultant performing audit engagements and providing consulting services to clients in a wide variety of industries. After those seven years, I took on the CFO role at Archbishop Spalding High School, which happens to be my alma mater.
It was there that I learned how to run the financial operations of a not-for-profit organization—in this case, an independent school. At the end of my time, where I also served as the boys’ soccer coach, I was recruited back to Ellin & Tucker to launch the firms’ Education Services Group. Though, presently I am starting my second stint on the Board of Directors at Spalding.
Returning to Ellin & Tucker offered a unique opportunity to reconnect with a firm I had always held in high regard. It allowed me to continue building a practice with clients I deeply admire and for whom I have developed significant expertise. I thought I would remain at the firm for the rest of my career when an old mentor called to recruit me into higher education.
I spent four years as the Associate Vice President for Finance at Loyola University Maryland, before becoming Vice President for Finance and Administration—the role I most recently served before joining served the Alumni Association & Foundation.
Q. What has been the “aha moment” in your career?
The "aha moment" of my career was in my first few years of public accounting, where I was working closely with not-for-profit organizations and their boards. During that time, I learned how amazing of an experience it can be to interact with these mission-driven organizations, their staff, their senior leaders and their boards—all of whom embrace the mission of the enterprise and commit to achieving that mission. That has become my calling in my career, and I have devoted the last 20 years to that calling.
Q. What are the strengths from your previous position that you are able to carry over into this role as the CFO?
The strengths that have served me well throughout my career are first and foremost my financial acumen and expertise. It's very difficult to be a good CFO without that baseline. However, as my career has progressed and I have taken on more visible roles, it has been my communication skills, my transparency and ability to explain things in an easily digestible way, my leadership, and my ability to connect with individuals at all different layers of an organization. I also think I have a high degree of emotional intelligence and empathy, both of which have served me well at this stage of my career.
Q. Describe your leadership style?
I am a very collaborative leader. I truly believe that we are working together to achieve the mission of the organization. While members of my team might report to me on paper and in an organizational chart, I try to convey that we are all working together, cohesively and collaboratively, to provide the best possible service to our colleagues, and our constituents.
Q. What are your hobbies outside of work?
First and foremost, I have two young kids (Angelo 13 and Gianna 8). They are both into travel sports, and many other extracurricular activities, so a field of some sort is where I can usually be found. I'm a fan of most sports, and a huge fan of the Baltimore Birds (O's and Ravens). I also enjoy live music of all kinds and try to run the concert circuit each summer. I am also a licensed soccer coach with over 25 years of coaching experience, from club to high school, and even to an advisory role for a D1 program.