Bridging the Financial Gap Between the C-Suite and the Factory Floor w/ Dr. Kevin Koharki

In complex industries like aerospace, defense, and manufacturing, there’s a dangerous disconnect between the boardroom and the factory floor. Executives focus on margins, growth, and shareholder value—but the employees making daily decisions often don’t understand how their work impacts the bottom line. 

Why? Because no one ever taught them.

In this episode of The Aerospace Executive Podcast, Dr. Kevin Koharki, former investment banker and now finance professor at Purdue University, explains how companies can unlock massive performance gains by teaching finance fundamentals to their workforce.

From engineers and sales teams to HR and operations, when employees understand financial strategy - how cash flow works, what drives ROI, how margin impacts decisions - they become smarter, more aligned, and more effective.

Kevin shares how he's helped Fortune 100 companies, private equity-backed aerospace firms, and industrial organizations build a culture of financial literacy that transforms performance from the ground up.

 

You’ll learn:

• Why frontline employees often don’t understand P&L ownership
• The ROI of teaching finance basics across the organization
• Why most corporate leaders don’t know how to read financial statements
• The difference between academic finance and real-world business acumen
• How financial education improves decision-making, culture, and cash flow

If you're leading a complex organization and want to align your teams around financial outcomes, this episode is for you.

 

Guest Bio

Kevin Koharki MBA, PhD is the founder of CAE Consulting, LLC.  He consults with, advises, and provides keynote speeches for some of the world’s largest firms (e.g., Fortune 100) across various industries such as aerospace and defense, banking, insurance, distribution, manufacturing, law firms, among others. He specializes in developing employees’ and Executives’ financial acumen so they understand and can communicate the financial value of their work, optimizing CEOs’ capital allocation priorities across their respective organizations. In doing so, clients benefit from enhanced organizational trust, culture, and performance.  Kevin is an expert financial analyst who has analyzed hundreds of firms over a 20-year career (including as an M&A analyst).  In addition, he has taught financial statement analysis at the Executive, Masters, and Undergraduate levels for 15 years at Top 50 universities.   He can be reached at kevin.koharki@caecoach.org, www.caecoach.org, https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinkoharki/, or (765) 637 – 3206

 

About Your Host

Craig Picken is an Executive Recruiter, writer, speaker and ICF Trained Executive Coach. He is focused on recruiting senior-level leadership, sales, and operations executives in the aviation and aerospace industry. His clients include premier OEMs, aircraft operators, leasing/financial organizations, and Maintenance/Repair/Overhaul (MRO) providers and since 2008, he has personally concluded more than 400 executive-level searches in a variety of disciplines. Craig is the ONLY industry executive recruiter who has professionally flown airplanes, sold airplanes, and successfully run a P&L in the aviation industry. His professional career started with a passion for airplanes. After eight years’ experience as a decorated Naval Flight Officer – with more than 100 combat missions, 2,000 hours of flight time, and 325 aircraft carrier landings – Craig sought challenges in business aviation, where he spent more than 7 years in sales with both Gulfstream Aircraft and Bombardier Business Aircraft. Craig is also a sought-after industry speaker who has presented at Corporate Jet Investor, International Aviation Women’s Association, and SOCAL Aviation Association. 

 

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