An award for 84 Lumber leader

In a high-visibility year for 84 Lumber that included Super Bowl commercials and geographic expansion, a behind-the-scenes executive recently earned recognition for his financial leadership.

The Eighty Four, Pa.-based lumberyard company’s CFO Paul Lentz was recently selected by an independent panel of judges as a 2017 recipient of the Pittsburgh Business Times “CFO of the Year” award.

Lentz’s impressive tenure with the company spans 30 years, having begun his career in 84 Lumber’s accounting department and working his way up the company’s career ladder.

“Paul has been a critical part of our success,” said Maggie Hardy Magerko, owner and president. “He is a key member of our executive leadership team and continues to find new ways to improve our business. This award is great recognition for Paul and we’re proud to have him as part of the 84 Lumber family.”

In announcing the award, the company added: “In 2010, among one of the worst housing market crashes since the Great Depression, he accepted a well-deserved, yet challenging, promotion from the company’s financial controller to 84 Lumber’s new chief financial officer. During the tumultuous market downturn in the second half of that year, he also brought an unfaltering commitment to 84 Lumber. His selection for the task, by 84 Lumber’s owner and president Maggie Hardy Magerko, was key to the company’s reemergence.”

Since Lentz’s appointment as chief financial officer, 84 Lumber has experienced increasing revenue figures year over year and a strong financial stability that has allowed the company to invest in added capabilities.