Justin Cerone, Tulane University alumnus and Poppi controller, held an event at the A.B. Freeman School of Business to share his experiences at Tulane and his career journey since graduating.  

As a Tulane student, Cerone interned with PricewaterhouseCoopers, a Big Four accounting firm that provides accounting, auditing and consulting services. After graduating, Cerone spent four years working at PwC.  

After reaching the role of senior associate at PwC, Cerone left the firm to join a small medical device company, where he took on the role of controller, managing the accounting operations of the company.  

“It was my first chance to step into an environment where I was the one driving the train,” said Cerone. 

However, after six months, the small medical device company was acquired by another company based out of San Antonio. 

“I went from an environment where everything was so unbelievably structured, where if I knew I stayed there for two years, I would be a manager, if I stayed there for five years, I would be a senior manager,” Cerone said. “And now I was riding the waves of not knowing if I had a job in six months, and not knowing who my boss is going to be, not knowing what my role was. And so, I stuck it out.” 

After working at PwC, Cerone briefly worked at 3M, and then at La Colombe Coffee Roasters as their first director of accounting.   

“I loved it because it was something that I hadn’t felt before, in the sense that people loved the product,” said Cerone. 

Cerone joined the Poppi team in December of 2023.  

Reflecting on the many positions he held in the business world, Cerone shared the lessons he learned throughout his career. 

“If you lead people, you never want to ask them to do something you wouldn’t do. That builds a lot of credibility and trust,” Cerone said. “One thing I would suggest, always have a conversation, even if you’re not interested in what’s going on,” said Cerone.