AAR Exec Kevin Larson Discusses What Makes a Leader on CIO Talk Radio

Aerospace IT executive shares leadership expertise on global broadcast

WOOD DALE, Illinois — AAR Chief Information Officer Kevin M. Larson appeared as a featured guest Wednesday on the live global broadcast CIO Talk Radio for a discussion with host Sanjog Aul on “Turning a Manager into a Leader.” During the hour-long segment, Larson talked about the differences between managing and leading and the role of innovation, as well as business growth from a corporate CIO perspective.

Larson tapped into 30 years of experience in information technology to bring perspective to such topics as transitioning from a manager to a leader; the scope of a leader’s influence in the office; the roles of delegation and motivation; motivating and encouraging employees; and long-term innovative strategies in leadership. He also provided commentary on what constitutes a leader, how to identify a true leader among seemingly equal candidates, and how one might develop the skills influencers identify with leadership in today’s corporate culture.

“If you’re simply managing the change, eventually you’re going to be left behind,” Larson said. "The CIO leadership role has evolved from getting connected with the business and adding customer value to include generating revenues from information services. The innovative focus helps promote growth at AAR."

In 2012, Larson was ranked in the 150 top U.S. CIOs, from a field of 38,000, by ExecRank, an independent authority that ranks executives across multiple industries. Larson also is among an elite group of executives who have earned the Advanced Certificate for Executives in Management, Innovation and Technology from the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management. Larson leads AAR’s information technology team, ensuring information flows effectively and efficiently between employees and its aerospace and defense customers around the world, including major airlines, aircraft OEMs, governments and military organizations.

“It’s a pleasure having Kevin as a guest on CIO Talk Radio,” said Aul. “His thoughts on the topic were very illuminating, and the tie-in with aviation adds value to the type of content we offer to our listeners. We’d love to have him back on the show in the near future.”

CIO Talk Radio is a weekly live radio broadcast dealing with the latest trends and topics in business and information technology. Each week a panel of top practitioners, subject-matter experts, analysts and academics join host Aul to discuss topics of interest to executives. CIO Talk Radio has featured more than 800 guests in all industries from around the globe — including top executives from Google, MasterCard, the New York Stock Exchange, NASA, the U.S. Department of Defense, the United Nations and many more. Listeners tune in from more than 113 countries and territories, and the show boasts over 93,000 individual downloads each month.

All CIO Talk Radio programs are available on demand at www.CIOTalkRadio.com. The live broadcast airs each Wednesday at 10 a.m. Eastern time. To hear Larson’s talk visit http://www.ciotalkradio.com/event/499-turning-a-manager-into-a-leader.html.