Jamie TenEyck, Chief Financial Officer at L&M Radiator, isn’t interested in running a one-woman show. She knows the value of a team, and her L&M team is no exception.
Hibbing, Minnesota — As leader of the accounting department, Jamie TenEyck calls her team “the final line of defense”— and for good reason. In accounting, just about everyone relies on their knowledge of the activities in every other department to succeed in their role. The numbers that the accounting team computes are often the culmination of decisions made across the whole company.
Working with numbers all day may seem dreary to some, but not for TenEyck, L&M Radiator’s new Chief Financial Officer, who knows that every number tells a story. The role calls for a passion for accuracy. To achieve this, transparent communication, and sometimes, even detective skills, are a must for TenEyck and her team.
That’s why she believes that success comes not from the individual, but from the collective. She is the kind of leader who puts in extra effort to aid her team when they need it most. She isn’t going to turn someone away when they come to her for help. Rather, her open-door policy ensures her team members feel comfortable voicing their problems and concerns.
“I always use the terminology, ‘You’re not on an island, you’re not by yourself. You have other people around you to make sure that we get to where we need to go,” said TenEyck. “No one should be overwhelmed, and no one should be underwhelmed.’”
This leader takes the time needed to be there for her team every time. And now, with the growth that will come with the acquisition of L&M Radiator by Wabtec, the world’s foremost rail technology company, TenEyck is there for her team more than ever.
Challenges Made Possible with the L&M Team
After graduating from the University of Minnesota Duluth with a B.A. in accounting and finance in 2002, TenEyck began her career as a tax associate at a regional accounting firm before working her way up to tax manager at the time of her departure. She then worked as a revenue tax specialist in 2009 with the Minnesota Department of Revenue. In 2015, she transitioned to the role of accounting supervisor for a Minnesotan mining company, but that same year, the difficult economic landscape resulted in mass layoffs for the company. Soon after, she learned that L&M was looking to hire a new accountant. The news couldn’t have come at a better time for TenEyck. It was just what she had been looking for.
TenEyck began her work at L&M Radiator as a corporate accountant and most recently assumed the title of Corporate Financial Controller. In 2023, TenEyck’s strong leadership skills, accuracy, and finesse were rewarded with a promotion to Chief Financial Officer, a shift that coincided with Wabtec’s recent acquisition of L&M Radiator.
Looking back, she views being laid off as a “happy accident… because I found where I belong.”
L&M Radiator has a reputation for treating its employees well. It’s considered a value that is on par with the company’s high standards for product quality and engineering innovation. At L&M, people are listened to, valued, and respected — the kind of thoughtfulness that goes a long way for employees. Now, almost eight years after first joining the L&M team, it’s safe to say TenEyck has found the place for her to thrive.
“I noticed right away, from the time that I joined, that my ideas are considered. My opinion matters. What I do matters,” said TenEyck. “I grew from within at L&M, so I know that feeling valued goes a long way. That is why it is so important to me to continue to foster that kind of culture as CFO.”
And while those values aren’t changing with Wabtec’s recent acquisition of L&M, other things are, and what’s in store for the company has team members like TenEyck excited about the next chapter for the company.
“For a lot of people, change is scary, but change is inevitable,” said TenEyck. “It’s a whole new world now. There are so many new ways we can grow. It’s like a big adventure.”
Wabtec offers L&M Radiator the opportunity to expand its global reach and to service customers they wouldn’t have been able to before. All that is to say, the future of the company is a bright one. The work that TenEyck’s team is putting in now is all in the name of what she views as an exciting opportunity to learn.
For TenEyck, change comes with the chance to grow. When TenEyck first joined L&M Radiator all those years ago, a co-worker told her something about L&M that she says still rings true to this day: “The only thing constant at L&M is change.” And for people like TenEyck, change is something to be taken in stride.
Outside of work, TenEyck hunts for deer and fishes for walleye, bass, and crappie. She makes it her goal to spend as much time as she can out on the lake with her husband, Randy, and their two kids, Maximus and Madelynn, who love tubing behind the family boat in the summertime. Minnesota summers are short, and TenEyck needs just one request met to know her summer has been well spent — “Put me by the water, please!”
L&M Radiator: The Team to Beat
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