Michael LaLonde Oral History Interview, September 15, 2017

Partial Transcript: Okay, we are rolling. So you have your four prompts that we start with.

Segment Synopsis: Michael LaLonde was born in South Bend, Indiana, but moved to Atlanta, Georgia shortly after he turned 2 years old. Michael shares background info about both of his parents career paths. His father was an accountant for an aluminum manufacturing company, which he went on to become president of before being named Executive Vice President of the conglomerate that owned the company. His mother was a nurse, and became a the head nurse of an all black hospital in south Atlanta. Both his parents were advocates for social justice during the civil rights movement, and Michael shares some stories he remembers from his early years.
He shares about his interest surrounding sports as a young kid, spending much of his time playing baseball, basketball, and football. He has one sister who is 3 1/2 years older then him, and he talks about the difference in their personalities and interests.

Partial Transcript: We made the decision to move to Chicago, so Freshman year I started school in Chicago.

Segment Synopsis: Michael talks about the move his family made from Atlanta to Chicago going into his Freshman year of High School. He explained that it was difficult for the people there to understand his Southern Accent and he was not a fan of their accent either. The major differences he experienced were the the size of the city, the difference in food, and the behavior of the local people.
One things his parents tried to do when they moved to Chicago was immerse their kids in different cultures by having them try different ethnic foods. Once a month they would go downtown and experience different styles of food.
Michael attended Denison University, a small school in Granville, Ohio. He changed his major a few times while there, starting with religious studies. However, he ultimately didn't graduate from Denison and returned to Atlanta. In Atlanta he started working in the restaurant industry as a bartender and waiter. He eventually was offered a job with a liquor distributor where he began working as a merchandiser. He also worked as a model for a 6 month period before returning to school at Georgia State, where he majored in Finance and took all the accounting courses.

Partial Transcript: What did you think that career path would be?

Segment Synopsis: Michael shares about how his degree in International Banking and Finance led to him study in London for a period of time, an experience he found fascinating. While at Georgia State, Michael met his wife who was from Australia. After graduation, she continued school at the University of Washington and he began his career. Due to the constant rain Michael departed from Seattle to Scottsdale, where his wife met him after she finished her degree. While in Arizona, he was diagnosed with valley fever, a fairly serious lung disease that ultimately led him to pivot his career path. This led him to a native tribe where he was hired as the CFO in Scottsdale, and eventually was responsible for running their government.
While in graduate school,

Partial Transcript: Michael, we're moving to Bend, Oregon.

Segment Synopsis: Michael elaborates on the various factors that contributed to him leaving his position with the native tribe, and how the family eventually found their way to Bend, Oregon. His wife discovered Bend through a website that takes your favorite activities, events, and geographical preferences into consideration and suggests locations based on those factors. A small town that has easy access to hiking trails and fishing holes was important to the family.
He moves on to share about his 3 children, two of which were attending Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona and the youngest was still in High School.
Shortly after arriving in Bend, Michael got an interview at Deschutes Brewery. Prior to the interview, he had pulled 2 consecutive all-nighters for his graduate school work, which led to what the panel referred to as the single worst interview they had ever witnessed. But he explains that due to the experience he endured on the backend of his tenure with the native tribe, Deschutes Brewery believed he could be a good fit within the company.

Partial Transcript: What were some of the lesson learned that you immediately drew on when you came into this job?

Segment Synopsis: Michael explains what of the first steps he took as CFO of Deschutes was to show everyone within the company the financial statements to build a level of trust that didn't exist before. The next step they took was improving their efficiency as a company down to each and every employee, which ultimately resulted in the layoffs of a few positions. They were attempting to save the company by cutting costs at every point that they could.
He then elaborates on the relationships among the Senior Management team, and the difficulties they sometimes faced with the owner. He was a tough minded and struggled with the idea of handing off some of the responsibility to the management level.

Partial Transcript: So you were Chief Operating Officer, and now you are CEO and President, were you President before?

Segment Synopsis: Michael was the CFO and COO for a few years, and then Gary came to him and said he wanted him to take over his direct reports in 2010. He explains the relationship he had created with Peter while still in Arizona, and at the time he transitioned into the CEO role Peter was looking for a job which allowed Michael to offer him a job at Deschutes focusing on the financial aspect of the business.
Michael learned a lot from Gary while working under him, explaining that attention to all detail is extremely important, how everybody having a relationship with the customer matters, and giving the co-owner the ability to make the right decision on their own is very important.

Partial Transcript: What do you think the unique perspectives and contributions you bring to Deschutes?

Segment Synopsis: Michael shares some of the skills and perspectives of value that he brings to Deschutes. At the time of his hire, he brought in a much needed understanding of finances, and as his tenure progressed he explains that his history of community and team building, and strategic planning has had a huge impact on the culture of the company.
He moves forward to characterize the relationship between international brewers and local small market breweries. It has become a trend for these large international organizations to buyout smaller breweries, providing them with deep pockets and ultimately creating barriers for smaller breweries to bring their product to market.

Partial Transcript: What else are you really excited about in your now almost 3 month old role?

Segment Synopsis: Michael shares some of the things he is excited about moving forward. Their marketing methodology has really developed in the sense that they have changed how they are talking to people and what they are saying. He also speaks about the excitement within the organization for the new beers they are planning to roll out in the fall, as well as the new personnel they have added in recent months that have added great value to their project management.
He moves forward to share some of his favorite memories during his tenure with Deschutes, highlighting some of the trips they took throughout Europe. He then elaborates on some memories of tough changes they had to make early in his tenure to impact the culture of the company. When he was first hired, their were ongoing issues of employees stealing beer off the line, and Michael shares the measures he took to ensure that would no longer go on under his watch.