After adding a new position to her list of career accomplishments, city native Michelle (Lenhart) Randazzo said she has her decorated career with the Altoona Area High School basketball team to thank.
Randazzo was recently named the new chief financial officer for Daimler Truck North America.
Throughout her educational career, Randazzo, 48, was a player on the girls basketball teams, dedicating her free time to the court. She’s best known in Blair County for winning the 1995 state championship, which earned her a Division I scholarship to play at Marshall University.
Randazzo said being a youth sports athlete was “fundamental” for her future, teaching her how to be disciplined and value teamwork.
As a competitive person, “that didn’t leave the day I stepped off the court,” she said, adding that she uses that drive to conduct business today.
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Michelle Randazzo is pictured playing basketball for Marshall University.
Court classic
According to her mother, Kathy Lenhart, both Randazzo and her sister, Karen (Lenhart) Dop, inherited their athletic genes from their father.
Bob Lenhart played streetball throughout his life, she said, so it was no surprise that Randazzo and Dop also found a love and talent for basketball from an early age.
Randazzo has always given “100% to everything she does,” especially in basketball, her mother said.
At Geesey Park, Randazzo spent more time playing pick-up games than her father, even though she defined herself as an introvert and preferred alone time.
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Michelle Randazzo is pictured playing basketball for Marshall University.
Randazzo made a lot of friends while playing at Geesey Park, she said, continuing to play basketball for Saint Mary’s Catholic School, coached by Walter Crum, and winning the 1989 state championship game at Bishop Guilfoyle.
“Having teammates was something I loved, and being close to a group of girls and building true friendships I have to this day is something I value in life,” Randazzo said.
It was her competitive nature and desire for accomplishment, however, that kept her on the court.
Playing one year for the Keith Junior High School girls basketball team, former coach Jeff Wagner said Randazzo was a “dedicated” student athlete.
“I was very pleased she ended up at the school I worked for,” he added.
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This picture of the 1994-95 Altoona Area High School Lady Lions championship team is included in the Blair County Hall of Fame.
Randazzo was significantly influenced by her coaches, including Crum and Wagner, she said, as their lessons taught her how to show respect and lead with integrity in the workplace.
In the mid-90s, Randazzo was the point guard for the Altoona Area High School Lady Lions varsity team.
The highlight of her tenure came in 1995 when the Lady Lions traveled to Hershey and won the state championship title. That season, they won 21 of 22 games, averaging 65 points per game.
Randazzo said she played with “such an amazing group of teammates” that year, adding that she and two others subsequently landed D1 basketball scholarships.
New directions
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Michelle Randazzo stands with her daughter, Bella, 9, son, Luca 13, and husband, Marco Randazzo, at a Carolina Panthers football game.
Playing DI basketball at Marshall University was different for Randazzo, considering that the crowds were larger and the stakes were higher.
“You’re on a stage much larger than what you’re used to in high school,” she said.
Traveling to play sports was enjoyable for Randazzo, as she visited Colorado to play against the Colorado Buffaloes in the 1997 NCAA Tournament.
It was an amazing experience “and a highlight from my basketball career” to play against the final 64 teams in the tournament, she said.
But being a student athlete can be both “rewarding and challenging,” since it equates to two full-time careers in school and sports simultaneously.
Randazzo’s love of numbers drove her to pursue a business administration degree with a specialization in finance during her time off the court at Marshall University.
“Math came easily to me,” she said, predicting that she could use her strengths in her career while loving what she did every day.
Finishing her undergraduate college degree in three years, Randazzo obtained her MBA at Saint Francis University, working as a graduate assistant in Shield’s School of Business.
Randazzo said she learned a lot from an educational perspective, understanding how to apply Dean Randy Frye’s lessons in the business world.
Frye called Randazzo an ambitious and terrific student.
In the MBA program, Frye can tell if a student will succeed in the future, and Randazzo was one of those individuals.
Randazzo values her education and now sees it as “one of the best success factors I had starting” in her future career.
Fresh out of graduate school, Randazzo secured a job at Ward Transport and Logistics LLC before moving on to Daimler Truck North America, which manufactures and sells commercial vehicles.
At Daimler, she worked as the manager of revenue and product cost control for more than 20 years, conducting both national and international assignments.
Outside of work, Randazzo married fellow Altoona Area graduate Marco Randazzo, whose family runs Mama Randazzo’s Pizzeria, and had two children together: Luca, 13, and Bella, 9. They currently reside in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Chief financial officer
On Jan 1, Randazzo was officially named chief financial officer of Daimler Truck North America, succeeding former CFO Stefan Kurschner.
Being named company CFO is an “honor” for Randazzo, and she is looking forward to getting started.
“I had instrumental mentors that guided me and helped me see opportunities,” she said, adding that she gives back by mentoring employees and helping them “find their way.”
Being an ambitious person, Randazzo said she never planned a specific career path, but when she understood that becoming a CFO was possible, she worked hard and ultimately earned the position.
“I learned early on in my career that I must be an advocate for myself because it’s up to me to drive my career,” she said. “No one else will do that for me.”
Becoming a CFO is “quite an achievement for a local girl from Altoona,” Frye said.
Randazzo’s success also doesn’t surprise Wagner, as he knows she is a focused and dedicated person.
As for Randazzo’s parents, her mother said they’re very proud of her accomplishment, because she set goals for herself a long time ago.
Randazzo has always been an “achiever,” Kathy Lenhart said, working hard at her job while balancing home life.
Randazzo said success means “bringing the best version of myself every day,” whether she’s at work supporting her team or being a good wife and mom.
Randazzo said she couldn’t be as successful in her professional life if it weren’t for her husband’s support.
“Success is being happy and fulfilled in both my personal and professional life,” she said.
On April 11, the 1995 and 1996 Altoona Area High School Lady Lions varsity girls basketball teams will be inducted into the Blair County Hall of Fame, as Randazzo and Dop will be recognized for their contributions to the teams.
Randazzo said “it’ll be great to see my team” when she returns to Blair County for the ceremony.
Mirror Staff Writer Colette Costlow is at 814-946-7414.
