CXO Conversations

The impressively humble General Kevin Patrick 'Chili' Chilton joins the show today to share his 34-½ years of experience in the Air Force as well as the successful transition he then navigated into corporate America.

A note to those who have not served in the Armed Forces: I will be referring to our guest as either General or by his call sign of 'Chili' out of respect for his rank and his service to our country.

Here is the full Part 1 interview: https://cxoconversations.libsyn.com/encore-general-kevin-patrick-chilly-chilton-on-preparing-tomorrows-leadership-building-strong-teams-and-flying-nice-birds

ABOUT OUR GUEST

General Kevin Patrick 'Chili' Chilton graduated from the United States Air Force Academy and has flown pretty much every aircraft in the Air Force inventory including the RF4, F15, U2, and the B52. He attended test-pilot school, served around the world and was selected as an astronaut that included three shuttle missions. He was also the Deputy Program Manager of Operations for the International Space Station. He then returned to the Air Force for key postings such as the Commander of the Ninth Recon Wing, Commander of the Eighth Air Force, and Commander of the Air Force Space Command and the United States Strategic Command. He is currently the only astronaut to obtain the rank of 4-star General. Chili has served on boards of the Anadarko, Orbital, Aerospace Corporation and both level three and post-merger with Lumen today as well as with Aerojet Rocketdyne.

Tom started out in technology and discusses how he arrived at the CEO chair by way of GE & NCR. He speaks about to the scrappy opportunties at GE and the similiarties of that attitude at Inovonics, a middle market company.

Along the way, his international travel helped him apprciate different cultures and what unites us.

He also discusses where emerging executives can obtain the robust management opportunites that GE used to offer.

Welcome to Colorado Tom!

When the lockdowns started, Susan realized they had to act fast to support the company, employees and real estate agents in over 120 countries while creating an innovative mental health program on the fly.

A highly respected HR leader in Denver, Susan has worked at OppenheimerFunds, American Residential Communities, Fiserv, Comcast and more.

In her interview, Susan shares the personal side of leading by example and how they are adapting to the permanent WFM culture.

Tony has sought opportunities to challenge himself and not be pigeon holed in one sector. Tony and Michael discuss how the CFO role is evolving, playing volleyball against Olympic athletes, trend in COO and CFO offices merging and his advice to those eyeing the C suite.

Peter grew up in West Africa, attended university in the UK, earned his Masters in the US, and served in several different sectors. Starting his career in banking, Peter founded his own Capital Advising firm before moving into health care.

Peter sought the healthcare sector as a place to apply his executive skills while contributing back to his community.

Setting career goal and making strategic decisions to become a CEO.

John made purposeful key decisions at Johnson & Johnson, Maxxar, IHS and Kellogg's to gain experience and opportunities to become an effective and seasoned CEO.

Being selected into one of the military service academy's is not only rigorous but an achievement that is not easy to walk away from. Casey discusses how he had come to terms with the fact that West Point was not his calling. Nor was a high earning position on Wall Street. Casey followed his passion and dreams, not expectations of success by society.

Focus on the opportunity and outcomes, not title and self.

While working for a large corporation, Drew was faced with an ethical decision that upon realization no one above him wanted to address the issue, vowed never to work for another bureaucratic organization again. Drew started his own firm to help companies thrive and he serves as an advisor with Blackstone Entrepreneurs Network Colorado