Kristin Zirnheld Appointed CFO at Hodgson Russ LLP

Hodgson Russ LLP is pleased to announce that Kristin N. Zirnheld has been appointed Chief Financial Officer, effective July 1, 2021. She joined the firm in 2020, contributing to a significant software conversion and leading several technical accounting projects. As CFO, Kristin will lead a team focused on financial data and leveraging technology and best practices to position the firm for continued growth, protect against risk, and optimize law firm financial processes to remain competitive in the legal landscape.

Kristin began her career at Deloitte & Touche LLP, serving a wide range of public and private audit clients in the manufacturing and service industries. She earned her MBA (’06 SUNY at Buffalo) while maintaining a full-time workload at Deloitte and developing deep technical experience in acquisitions, SEC reporting, and IPOs. Over the course of 11 years, Kristin advanced to Audit Senior Manager and led large cross-functional and international teams of up to 75 professionals, including specialists in the areas of valuation, income taxes, information systems, actuarial services, data integrity, and various technical accounting areas.     

In 2011, Kristin became Corporate Controller of the Buffalo Sabres, responsible for managing the accounting, finance and payroll functions. She quickly built a strong knowledge of the professional sports industry and took ownership of the team’s financial reporting to the National Hockey League. As the portfolio of companies rapidly expanded, Kristin spearheaded the accounting aspect of this growth and focused on building a talented, diverse finance team. 

Kristin has actively served on the Canisius College Council on Accountancy since 2013, and was honored with the Dr. Joseph R. Coppola ’40 Award, which recognizes the exceptional achievements of a Canisius College accounting graduate. 

Hodgson Russ attorneys facilitate the U.S. legal aspects of transactions around the world. The Firm practices in several significant areas of law and uses multidisciplinary work teams to serve the specific, often complex, needs of clients, which include public and privately held businesses, governmental entities, nonprofit institutions, and individuals. Hodgson Russ has offices in Albany, Buffalo, Hackensack, New York City, Palm Beach, Rochester, Saratoga Springs and Toronto. To learn more, visit www.hodgsonruss.com.