Guest:

Steve Cook, Executive Managing Director, LFM Capital
MIT LGO (MBA/MSEE) | Former Dell Plant Manager | Private Equity Operator & Educator

🎙️ Episode Overview

In this powerhouse conversation, Justin sits down with Steve Cook, Executive Managing Director at LFM Capital, a private equity firm uniquely built and led by operators and engineers. Steve shares rare, behind-the-scenes insights on how LFM identifies, acquires, and transforms mid-market manufacturing companies—not through financial engineering, but through people-centric leadership, hands-on operational excellence, and a relentless commitment to long-term value creation.

With decades of experience leading industrial businesses, teaching at Harvard Business School, and mentoring future leaders at MIT, Steve brings a refreshing blend of humility, clarity, and practicality to the world of PE-backed manufacturing.

If you're a manufacturing leader, business owner, aspiring CEO, or private equity stakeholder, this is a must-listen.

1. Why LFM Capital Breaks the Traditional PE Mold

• LFM is one of the only U.S. private equity firms where an operating partner also runs the firm.
• True parity between deal partners and operating partners leads to better diligence, alignment, and execution.
• How LFM avoids the “painted-on operating partner” problem common in the industry.

2. What PE Really Looks for in Mid-Market Manufacturing Deals

• Why LFM invests in companies with $3–$15M EBITDA and fewer than ~250 employees.
• How leadership quality, culture, and values matter more than perfect metrics.
• Why buyers should not pursue “perfect companies”—real value is created where opportunity exists.

3. Leadership: The Make-or-Break Factor in Value Creation

• Arrogance is the enemy of leadership—humility is essential.
• Why effective CEOs must be able to “play the full keyboard”:
  • Shop floor → Board room → Customer meetings.
• LFM’s CEO Development Program: a 5–7 year rotational system creating cross-functional, hands-on, next-generation executives.

4. The First 100 Days After Acquisition

• LFM’s collaborative approach: no “one-size-fits-all” playbook.
• How they co-create an Operational Agenda before closing a deal.
• Why focusing on just three priorities at a time is essential for smaller companies.

5. Implementing Lean in Resource-Constrained Environments

• Why Lean is easier to implement in small companies than large ones.
• The cultural importance of leadership buy-in—especially from the CEO.
• Steve’s take on fractional CI leadership, external facilitation, and when companies should backfill with full-time CI talent.

6. How LFM Navigates Tough Deals & Upholds Values

• The Apollo 13 story: how LFM refused to abandon a distressed deal, preserving jobs, paying back lenders, and honoring the seller’s legacy.
• Why LFM optimizes for a 50-year time horizon, not a 5-year fund cycle.

• Mid-market manufacturing owners considering an exit
• CEOs and plant leaders navigating growth or operational challenges
• Private equity operating partne

In this episode of The Allied Advisors Podcast, Justin sits down with Rob Tykal—former President, COO, and VP of Global Operations at organizations like Danaher, GM, Daimler, and Superior Industries—for a deep, practical conversation on supply chain, materials management, and leadership.

While the video recording unfortunately cuts out around the 29-minute mark (lesson learned on DSLR limits), the insights captured are pure gold. Rob breaks down why forecast-driven systems consistently fail manufacturers, how consumption-based replenishment actually works in practice, and why great operational leaders must live at the gemba—not just in spreadsheets.

From Kanban design levels and safety stock logic to humility in executive leadership, this episode is a masterclass for mid-market manufacturers looking to improve flow, reduce inventory risk, and build sustainable operational cultures.

🎧 Full audio is intact, and Rob will be back for a follow-up episode.

⏱️ Episode Highlights

• Why all forecasts are wrong—and why companies still rely on them
• The grocery store analogy that perfectly explains pull-based replenishment
• How Kanban design levels eliminate the “cut inventory” debate
• Why excess inventory and stockouts usually coexist
• The real cost of expiration dates, obsolete material, and long lead times
• What executives must learn to see on the shop floor
• Why humility is the most underrated leadership trait
• How smaller manufacturers can outperform large enterprises operationally
• The difference between tools, systems, and culture—and why culture wins

🧠 Key Takeaways

• Forecasts are necessary but unreliable—consumption should drive replenishment
• Properly designed pull systems self-regulate inventory levels
• Leaders must understand materials deeply; intelligence cannot be delegated
• Inventory problems are rarely downstream issues—they’re leadership issues
• Smaller companies have agility advantages if they execute correctly

👤 About the Guest

Rob Tykal is a seasoned operational executive with decades of experience leading global manufacturing organizations. He has held senior leadership roles across automotive, industrial, and life sciences sectors and is widely respected for his ability to pair rigorous lean systems with people-centered leadership. Rob is known not just for improving processes—but for building cultures that sustain them.

📌 About the Podcast

The Allied Advisors Podcast is for mid-market manufacturers focused on scaling operations, improving material flow, and driving measurable bottom-line results. Hosted by Justin Goethe, each episode features operators, executives, and investors who’ve been in the trenches—and know what actually works.

🔔 Call to Action

If this episode resonated with you:

• Follow The Allied Advisors Podcast on your favorite platform
• Share this episode with a fellow operator or supply-chain leader
• Reach out to Allied Advisors if you’re ready to rethink inventory, flow, and execution

Guests:

• Kyle Henson, Co-Founder & CEO, ARDA
• Uriel Eisen, President & Co-Founder, ARDA (Forbes 30 Under 30)

Hosted by: Justin Goethe, Allied Advisors

Episode Overview

In this episode, Justin sits down with two of manufacturing's fastest-rising innovators, Kyle Henson and Uriel Eisen, the founders of ARDA—the software platform redefining Kanban, replenishment, and material flow for modern factories.

ARDA recently won Best New Product of the Year at The Assembly Show, and after this conversation, it’s easy to understand why. Kyle and Uriel break down how broken information flow—not labor, not layout, not even equipment—is the root cause behind most operational issues. Their solution: a remarkably simple but powerful way to automate Kanban, eliminate stockouts, and boost throughput using physical cards, dynamic sizing, and AI-driven replenishment.

If you’ve ever battled material shortages, overstuffed supermarkets, lost Kanban cards, or ERP systems that promise clarity but deliver chaos—this is the episode for you.

What We Cover

1. The “Broken Information Flow” Crisis in Manufacturing

Kyle explains why traditional ERPs and MRP forecasting models consistently fail on the shop floor—and how ARDA tackles the root problem by marrying physical cards with digital intelligence.

2. How ARDA Automates the Entire Kanban Lifecycle

Uriel walks through ARDA’s full stack of capabilities:

• Automated Kanban sizing
• AI-driven minimum quantity adjustments as throughput changes
• Digital ordering and scan-triggered replenishment
• Lost-card detection
• Full historical usage tracking
• Integration with ERP systems (SAP, NetSuite… AS/400 if you dare)

Justin notes the pain of doing this manually with Excel, BarTender, Label Matrix, and disconnected scan systems—and how ARDA replaces all of it in one platform.

3. Making Kanban “So Easy, You Want to Do It”

A guiding principle in ARDA’s development:

By attaching useful actions to the scan itself (ordering, printing, triggering the next step), ARDA increases scan compliance without administrative policing. Incentives create behavior.

4. One-Way Kanbans, RFID, and Real-World Chaos

Justin shares war stories implementing RFID replenishment:

• Route runners scanning eight cards at once
• Lines waiting for RFID lights
• Infinite reprinting
• Inventory corruption

The conclusion: incentives beat instructions. ARDA’s system is built entirely around this idea.

5. AI-Driven Dynamic Resizing & Value-Stream Connectivity

Perhaps the most groundbreaking part of ARDA:

• The system learns which Kanbans relate to each other by analyzing velocity patterns
• ARDA automatically resizes supermarkets when mix or volumes change
• If upstream suppliers also use ARDA, Kanban signals can flow between companies

The result: true consumption-based pull across the entire supply chain, not just inside one plant.

6. Why Sequencing Fails (and Lean Pull Wins)

Justin and the ARDA team break down why sequencing—still widely used in automotive—is a ticking time bomb:

• Scheduling is inherently unstable
• Upstream disruptions break downstream kits
• Chaos forces rework, relabeling, and waste

Mature lean organizations attack the root causes (leveling attainment, schedule adherence), not the symptoms.

7. The Power of Starting Small

The team emphasizes that most manufacturers freez