Learn This Top Southern CFO’s Secrets to Success
Meet Christianna Denelsbeck Rudder — Chief Financial Officer of Landscape Workshop — and learn how she balances motherhood with her demanding career and community involvement.
Birmingham-based Christianna Denelsbeck Rudder took a job in 2015 at Landscape Workshop, a company offering commercial landscaping and grounds maintenance in Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee, South Carolina, Florida, and Georgia. Since then, she has risen through the ranks and now serves as the company’s Chief Financial Officer.
Landscape Workshop credits Christianna with helping the company increase profits and productivity, and she’s managed to do it all as a wife, mother of two, a community volunteer, and an avid runner. Get to know this inspiring FACE of the South!
You became chief financial officer at your company in 2021, the same year you became a mom. Tell us about that season.
I felt my pregnancy was a time of peak performance for my career. I was able to hone in and focus on my career; I was basically trying to pay it forward because I knew my co-workers would be picking up some slack for me. And I had fresh inspiration! I was about to have my daughter, and I want her to grow up like I did — with a mom who has a strong work ethic and a career. I wanted to model that for her. So, while it was a lot of change — I was learning a new role, and the company was growing like crazy — I also had a lot of inspiration to do things the right way and to work really hard.
What do you think has been the key to your success?
The first is support from a lot of great people, my husband being the first. When we decided to start a family, he took a step back from his career in sales, which required him to be on the road a lot, and stepped into a role in real estate so he could be around more. Without that support, it would be really hard for me to do what I do.
I’ve had supportive people throughout my career, too. Our CEO, J.T. Price, has not just been a boss but also a mentor. He encouraged me to get involved in the community and local organizations like Rotaract, and he’s been an advocate for me at the company.
The second thing is work ethic. That’s a gift my parents gave me — teaching me how to work hard. I’m always trying to work as hard as I possibly can to be as good as I can for my family and the company.
Tell us more about your work with Rotaract.
In the past, I’ve served on the club’s board, and now I’m chair of the foundation, which is the 501c3 portion of Rotaract. We’re the fundraising arm, and we support our signature service projects. One is called Ready to Read. We send volunteers to read to second-grade students in Birmingham classrooms to help foster a love of reading at a young age.
The second service program is Ready to Succeed. With that, we’re mentoring 10th, 11th, and 12th graders at Parker High School, talking to them about different career paths, college applications, and ACTs to support them through the next phase and give them a mentor to talk to.
Why did you feel it was important to be a part of this organization?
My initial attraction was that I wanted to meet other young professionals in Birmingham. But I’ve gotten so much more than that out of it. I feel very lucky [to have had] the support I received growing up. I wanted to help pass that along.
Growing up, you played a lot of sports. Did that have any impact on your work ethic?
I’m not the most athletic person in the world, but I went to a very small high school — Holy Spirit High School in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. If you were even remotely athletic, you played every sport. I played volleyball, basketball, and softball. I was also cheering. I would cheer for the junior varsity boys’ basketball team, play for the girls’ basketball team, and then cheer for the varsity boys’ basketball team all in one night. That taught me time management, which helps a ton while managing two children and a career.
What’s the best advice you’ve been given?
I had coffee with Nancy Goedecke (her family owns Mayer Electric) before I had my first child, and I kept talking about balance. She laughed at me and said, you cannot balance things; you have to learn how to integrate.
Along that same vein, I have a great group of women I meet for breakfast once a month. One of the women shared with me that you can land many planes via email, while you’re with your child, while breastfeeding, or whatever. You’ve got to learn how to multitask and integrate your life between work and family. If you don’t learn how to do that, you can’t be as successful. And that takes support, too. It takes having a big village of supporters around. You can’t do it on your own.
What else do you like to do when you’re not working?
Running is a big hobby of mine. I qualified for the Boston Marathon before I had my son Jack. I’ve been trying to get ready for that race. I’m usually up at 4 a.m. to run or get in a workout. Every Saturday morning, there’s a group of women — probably 40 or 50 of us — running together from La Paz in Crestline or Trak Shak in Homewood.
During football season, I love watching Buffalo Bills games. I lived in Buffalo, New York, for two years. I carried that with me from my time there.
If my husband and I can sneak away for a date night on the weekends, we love to try to have a nice meal together. We also spend a lot of time at the breweries with the kids on the weekend.
What are some of your favorite restaurants and breweries?
Bettola is probably our favorite restaurant. As far as breweries go, we live in Crestwood, so Cahaba Brewing Company is close and convenient for us. We love the space that Cahaba has for the kids.
What else do you love about Birmingham?
We love going to Pepper Place. We’ll go to Hop City, grab a drink at the bar, and then go shopping. We love to go to Son of a Butcher and get something fresh. And the Pepper Place Market is always great on Saturdays.
There’s an amazing local business called Birmingham Born that I’m super passionate about. They provide doula support for women in the Birmingham area. We had a birth doula. I had my children at St. Vincent’s, but she was in the room to help with the process of a natural birth both times. They also provide postpartum doula support. That means teaching us how to change diapers, give bottles, and all the basics, but also checking in on me and my mental health.
Lightning round!
Your last great vacation: Cocobay Resort in Antigua
Book you are currently reading: In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware
Three things you can’t live without: Manicures from BaseCoat, my latest Spotify playlist, and my morning exercise time
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Javacia Harris Bowser
Javacia Harris Bowser is a Birmingham-based freelance writer and the founder of See Jane Write, an online community and coaching service for women who write. With over 20 years of journalism experience, Javacia has received awards from the National Federation of Press Women, Alabama Media Professionals, Alabama Press Association, and the Alabama State Council on the Arts. When she’s not writing, she’s usually practicing Pilates, getting her 10K steps a day, or watching crime shows. Follow Javacia on Instagram @seejavaciawrite.