Never Stop Learning with Kyle Krieger

In this episode of See Yourself IN, host Casey Harrison sits down with Kyle Krieger, Manager of Strategy and Operations at LDI, Inc. Kyle, a born-and-raised Hoosier, shares his journey from his early interest in business to his current role in a dynamic family office. He discusses his experiences with the Orr Fellowship, the importance of community involvement, and the diverse nature of his work at LDI, Inc., which includes supporting companies in advanced manufacturing, logistics, and other industries. Kyle also provides valuable insights for young professionals and aspiring entrepreneurs.

5 Key Takeaways:

1. Explore Diverse Career Paths: A strong foundation in a field like finance can provide a versatile skillset applicable across various industries. Don't be afraid to explore different roles and industries early in your career.
2. Tap into Indiana's Network: Organizations like the Orr Fellowship and Conexus Indiana offer valuable resources and connections for young professionals in Indiana. Attend events and engage with these organizations to expand your network and explore opportunities.
3. Seek Hands-On Experience: Look for roles that allow you to work on diverse projects and collaborate with people from different backgrounds. Practical experience is crucial for developing skills and identifying your passions.
4. The Power of Mentorship: Cultivate both formal and informal mentoring relationships. Seek guidance from experienced professionals and also find opportunities to mentor others, sharing your knowledge and expertise.
5. Embrace Continuous Learning: Prioritize roles that challenge you and provide opportunities to learn new skills. Adaptability and a thirst for knowledge are essential in today's ever-evolving business landscape.

For more resources on the jobs, companies, and opportunities in Indiana, visit

https://www.cicpindiana.com/syi/  

Transcript

[00:00:00] Casey: Welcome to today's episode of See Yourself In, where you will learn about cool jobs, people, and companies in Indiana. Today, you'll hear about skills that will help you find success. And most importantly, we hope we inspire you to dream big. I'm Casey Harrison, your host. See Yourself In is presented by the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership to help you discover all of the opportunities within Indiana's advanced industries.

We discuss career paths, job opportunities, job training programs, and ways to develop and apply those skills to begin exploring these opportunities. Today we're thrilled to be joined by Kyle Krieger, a finance professional and data enthusiast. With a passion for numbers and business, Kyle's honed his skills in finance and consulting, gaining the knowledge needed to thrive in competitive fields.

Beyond his technical expertise, Kyle is dedicated to helping others through his work, a value he's carried through every step of his career. Join us as Kyle shares his inspiring journey, his thoughts on the evolving world of data, and how he uses all of his skills to make a meaningful impact.

Kyle, welcome. Thanks for joining us. 

[00:01:15] Kyle: Thanks for having me, Case. I'm excited to be here. 

[00:01:16] Casey: Yeah, well, we're excited to have you. We're going to dive right in today, so to help our audience get to know you a little bit better, could you tell us about where you grew up? 

[00:01:24] Kyle: Born and raised in Indiana. Have lived in the Indianapolis area my whole life.

A few different spots. Westside, Carmel, downtown a little bit. So, now I'm in Fountain Square, but yeah, I guess you could say Hoosier through and through from that perspective. 

[00:01:36] Casey: That's very cool. Okay. So when you were in high school, we're going to go back in time a little bit and you were thinking about life after graduation.

Were you thinking about staying in Indiana? 

[00:01:46] Kyle: Yeah. So, I mean, I knew college was going to be in the plans, was looking at some colleges in Indiana, but also outside in the Midwest, more broadly speaking, I was considering running in college. So I was looking at Miami of Ohio, Xavier University, but then ultimately kind of decided I.

I didn't want to go the running path and be a student athlete for four or five years. But Indiana was definitely kind of in the perspective of staying in state. 

[00:02:09] Casey: So when you were looking at colleges, were you thinking about what you wanted to study or were you really focused on like, Potentially being an athlete and proximity to family.

[00:02:18] Kyle: I would say at first, the running was the first look junior year of high school, but then started realizing going into senior year, maybe not for me, like I mentioned. So what I want to do started take the top precedent of my vision. And so I wanted to study business. So that's where IU, the Kelly School really started raise up of, okay, I think that might be a good avenue for me and not being too far from Indy, but still getting a little bit outside of the Indy bubble.

[00:02:42] Casey: It's nice when you can pick a college that not just meets your career expectations and goals, but also gives you that close proximity to family. When you got to IU, IU Bloomington, is that right? Yes, correct. When you got to IU Bloomington, how did you start getting involved on campus? And did you immediately, you said you were business track, did you focus that any further?

[00:03:03] Kyle: So yeah, I was lucky enough to be a direct admit to the Kelley school and so just was able to start first semester taking the classes and jumping in from that perspective. So try to do a few different clubs, stuff like that. So it was really fun to kind of dive in from a head first perspective because I knew I wanted to do business, but I didn't know what aspect.

So I started going down the finance route and really. Yeah. More so because I could apply that to anything. Sure. I wasn't really interested in accounting. I needed to know that, but I didn't want to become a CPA. Marketing wasn't really my niche or anything like that. So I was like, finance will be really broad.

And so I got to do some different clubs and perspectives from that. 

[00:03:39] Casey: I really appreciate that because there are so many people listening that are undecided right now in college, and they're trying to figure out how do I pick a career? You know, what do I want to do with the rest of my life? And I think the cool thing about see yourself in is like, all of us have had that moment of what do we want to do with the rest of our lives?

And what you're sharing is that you picked the field of study that would give you the most opportunity, but also broad opportunity. It sounds like. 

[00:04:04] Kyle: Exactly. Because going forward through college, I internship wise, I wanted to do different things. So I had a finance internship at a retail clothing company and then worked in a credit and underwriting division of low income housing tax credit company.

So two completely different things. Oh my gosh, yeah. And that was kind of my goal of internships, to see different things and have that help paint my vision. But ultimately, I still didn't really know what I wanted to do. Lead me to my future of like, I'll do consulting because I still don't know exactly what I want to do.

So it'll take me down that route to see different companies, industries and work with different people. 

[00:04:38] Casey: Well, let's follow that thread maybe because part of what you shared when we spoke is that you were involved with the or fellowship. So let's touch on for those listening. The or fellowship is a tremendous program based in Indianapolis and Evansville.

And it's mission is to recruit and develop the next generation of business leaders and entrepreneurs. So how did you discover and get connected to the Orr Fellowship? 

[00:04:58] Kyle: It's kind of funny being like I said, Hoosier through and through you would have thought I maybe heard of Orr Fellowship a long time ago, but I actually hadn't and it was going into senior year of college.

It was one of my. Friends from grade school and high school. He was a year above me. He got recruited and went through or fellowship the year prior. So he reached out and was like, Hey, you should consider this during fall recruitment and then go through the process. And so that's how I found out about it was through a connection and the rest was history kind of went through the recruitment process and each phase of it got to know a little bit more about or fellowship and like, okay, this actually seems like a pretty cool opportunity.

So it definitely was. The connection phase, not necessarily the marketing or something like that. 

[00:05:37] Casey: And so for those listening who are similar to you, they're in Indiana, they've been in Indiana, but they don't know much about the or fellowship, or maybe they're just hearing about it for the first time. What did the program consist of?

[00:05:48] Kyle: It's a two year post grad program and you are. Paired with a partner company is what they refer to the mass. So you work for that company as a an actual employee for two years. And so during that time, you also have your cohort of or fellows, and it's kind of like a group where you're like minded business leaders from all different backgrounds and truly you kind of self run the organization.

There's lots of different committees, business leader, speaker series, things like that. They go on on a monthly basis. And so one of the things I got to work with was our entrepreneurship program for kids. And so we would go to, at the time we did some organizations with Warren Township and taught the, I think they were probably fourth grade through eighth grade students about entrepreneurship.

And so there's different things you can do through that. Like I said, all different committees, finance committees, things like that. So it's a really cool self run organization and you build good connections and friends as well. 

[00:06:40] Casey: So if you're in college right now or you're very early in your career and you're looking for some support.

Maybe the Orr Fellowship is something to check out, and the reason that I wanted to touch on that is because Orr Fellowship actually had a really interesting connection to LDI and the company that you're working for today. So let's back up a little bit. Today you're the manager of strategy and operations for LDI, Inc.

And for those unfamiliar, could you just give us a little context? What is LDI? 

[00:07:06] Kyle: LDI stands for Lacey Diversified Industries. And so we're the family office in Indianapolis here for the Lacey family. And so we own and operate companies across different industries like manufacturing, logistics, distribution.

And at a high level, the viewers are familiar with private equity. We're like a private equity firm in that we buy a company. Improve it overtime and then we'll sell it in the future, but we're different that being a family office. We don't have to raise outside capital or have investors. So it's all internal and we're not beholden to a 10 year fund life.

So we're much more of a buy and build philosophy where our average whole life for a company is 10 plus years. Versus private equity is more of three to seven where they're, they're churning pretty quickly. So it's much more of that. We grow with the company and support the management team and the employees.

And the cool thing about it being a family office, our current CEO, Jay, he's fourth generation leadership at this point. So his great grandpa started a corrugated fiber box company back in 1912 and then that was sold. I want to say it's the early eighties and then that's when LDI was formed to diversify the portfolio.

So long history in Indianapolis. 

[00:08:13] Casey: Very long history and broad, broad history in Indianapolis. We're going to talk about the global impact of the company here in just a bit. But I'm curious, you shared, you were a business major, you were interested in finance, you wanted to do something in the consulting space because you like the variety.

How did you, Eventually find the role at LDI. 

[00:08:32] Kyle: So through the or fellowship, right? Like I said, there's that two year timeframe and coming up to the two years, you kind of have this opportunity to explore if you want to look for other opportunities or stay with your partner company, it's pretty open process.

So I was going to explore in the consulting firm I worked for was all data and analytics focused. So not necessarily what I did in undergrad, right? finance, but like I knew how to work with data numbers, but I didn't necessarily have the technical skills. And so I started searching and LDI had an opening.

So I applied for it, went through the process and definitely having the Orr Fellowship stamp of approval helped me because LDI had had Orr Fellows in past years out of the program. And so that's where definitely, I think, got me in the short stack, if you will. 

[00:09:13] Casey: I love that connection because I think that's one of the things that's really unique about a city like Indianapolis, where things are a state like Indiana, even where we have this connectivity here that's built into the fabric of everything, including the business ecosystem.

[00:09:28] Kyle: Exactly. It's big, but still small. That's right. 

[00:09:30] Casey: Yeah, that's right. You shared with me that you've always been interested in entrepreneurship. Maybe we could talk a little bit about what a manager of strategy and operations does. And how your experiences at LDI are helping you be successful as a future entrepreneur.

[00:09:47] Kyle: So I think growing up, there was always this kind of entrepreneurship. Like I was interested, but I didn't necessarily always know, like if I would be able to do it. I think a lot of it was, I only had the thought process from what I saw newspapers or the news in general of, well, to be an entrepreneur, it's kind of a tech startup.

And so I don't necessarily know if I had the mind to be like, I have that creative new business idea where I can do a start up. I'm not necessarily wired that way. So I was like, I'm interested in entrepreneurship. I don't know if it's ever going to happen. And so LDI and my role in the strategy and operations operations team with my colleagues.

We are kind of embedded with our operating companies that we own and really work with the management teams there to help drive different value creation, creating initiatives so I could stem from data and analytics initiatives, helping with an ERP or CRM implementation with a company. A lot of these companies that we buy.

They're old. They've done really well. They're good companies, but maybe their tech stack is still in the 1990s per se. And so we want to help professionalize them. We also work on different operational projects, which I think is really fun since that's not my background. I get to jump in and, and learn new dynamics from coworkers at the companies who are engineers have that background.

I'm by no means an engineer, but working on operational projects, I get to dip my feet in that area. So more so it's, it's, it's a, it's a broad role. You get to work on lots of different projects across. Not only the operating companies, but some with the LDI itself. I work with our mergers and acquisitions team some, since we're always looking to buy new companies, right?

And so it kind of sets you up to get some management experience and see how a company, a business is run to one day, hopefully, maybe I can run my own business. 

[00:11:24] Casey: It's just phenomenal, the portfolio of LDI. You touched on it briefly, but talk a little bit about maybe the company that you're working with under LDI's portfolio, but I mean, the ability to work across industries in cross functional roles or even just as a member of a cross functional team is so important early in your career because that exposure helps you identify things that you like, and then you can maybe pivot in really interesting ways.

I think that's just, it's such a testament to the experience you're getting at LDI. 

[00:11:54] Kyle: So I mainly work with Polygon Composites. They're up in Walkerton, Indiana, which is not far from South Bend. At a high level, they make composite tubes and they get cut down into different end applications. So composite bearings, robotic surgical shafts for medical industry.

All kinds of things. And so I didn't really, you know, know much about manufacturing engineering, kind of like I was saying. And so being a data guy, when I first joined Polygon, that was kind of where I can make my impact and work with different leaders across different departments. And that helped me learn the business when I'm working with the quality and engineering team on different data initiatives.

But I don't know much about quality processes, but I was able to learn those things by working with them. So it definitely is kind of a cool dynamic and especially with Polygon being an Indiana company, having that exposure in our portfolio is something we are very happy with. 

[00:12:44] Casey: Well, an Indiana company that touches multiple advanced industries, right, like advanced manufacturing and logistics, life sciences, I mean, the portfolio of their work is also very large.

Yeah. I think. It's incredible to know that all this is happening right here in our state. 

[00:12:57] Kyle: There's a lot of good manufacturing companies in Indiana. 

[00:13:00] Casey: I want to pivot. I feel like we could talk about the work you do all day, but I want to pivot a little bit because you were recently recognized as one of Connexus Indiana's Rising 30.

Congratulations. Thank you. I appreciate that. Yeah. So for those listening, we've had Adam Gushwa Williams. We've had him on. We've had a few of our Rising 30 honorees on the podcast, but maybe could you just one more time remind us what Rising 30 is? 

[00:13:21] Kyle: Through Conexus, they put on this award for 30 under 30, and it's within the advanced manufacturing logistics industry.

It's really cool for me to, to recognize highly talented young professionals on their journey and the impact they make across the state. So I think what was really cool for me was it truly was people across the state. There were people from up north, down south, everywhere, and plenty in central Indiana as well.

But all in all, I think it's really cool. Recognize that talent and connects us. That's a great job. And we're gonna need it as technology continues to innovate. And especially with all the companies that we have here in Indiana, that maybe they are great manufacturing company, but maybe they don't have technology with young talent that can help bring that to the table.

[00:13:59] Casey: It's incredible. We've talked about it today. Like, there's so much opportunity here in Indiana for people to plug in. But I think one of the things that we hear a lot through the podcast and our social media channels for See Yourself In is that people don't know where to get started. So where would you recommend people plug in, whether it's to the industry or to LDI itself?

What would you suggest? 

[00:14:20] Kyle: The different events that are under the umbrella of Connexus. really great analytics. Indiana more broadly that goes cross cross industry. I think it's an awesome one. I've gone to some of their events and had some good connections and potential partnerships come out of that, that we're working through LDI specifically, always happy to chat through any dynamics and.

Chat about the company with anyone. Reach out on LinkedIn. We have a career page that has more info about the team that I'm on the strategy and operations team. I know I speak for my colleagues and they're happy to chat as well. And actually, this this last summer, we restarted our internship program and so had two MBA students from the Kelly School down in Bloomington come up and intern.

So we have an open internship that we look through for the right candidates from a master's degree perspective. And then even some of our operating companies will take interns as well. So lots of ways to get involved, I think, with with LDI in the portfolio. 

[00:15:11] Casey: For sure. Lots of ways to get involved. Period.

You just have to take the first step, right? Exactly. 

[00:15:14] Kyle: Yeah. And I know it can be scary sometimes jumping in or going to an event when you don't know anyone necessarily, but you just got to do it. 

[00:15:21] Casey: She's got to do it. Yeah. She's got to do it. See where it takes you. Exactly. Or go back and listen to Milan Ball's episode.

We had Milan on earlier this year and she was sharing some of her best connections in Indianapolis came from going to events by herself, which is just really cool that you can do that in our state. Yeah, which can be good 

[00:15:36] Kyle: because then it forces you to talk to other people you don't know when you're riding solo on that front.

[00:15:41] Casey: If you're not watching this video, you're listening to it. You can't see Kyle's eyes. But you can. You are so passionate about this work. I mean, your eyes just light up when you start talking about some of the components of what you do. Where does that passion come from? 

[00:15:52] Kyle: I think there's a couple underlying factors.

One, my mom, and she has passion in everything she does. So I think growing up and being able to see that from a day one, right, is something that's kind of been ingrained in me on be passionate about what you do. Or find something that you are passionate about. So I think that kind of philosophy was instilled at a young age into me, but then more broadly speaking for my current role, I love the state of Indiana.

I mean, I went to IU and love our, our football team's doing great right now, right? I have to shout them out in this opportunity, but with LDI, we have a ton of, a ton of people who are passionate about what they do and are super smart. And it's, it's just, it's, It's infectious. It spreads in a good way. And when you're working with people who are going to roll up their sleeves and no duty is too little for anyone to do, and we're just gonna get the job done like that's that's true passion how I see it.

And we want to make our companies better and improve the lives of our employees. It's fun. It's not work. It really is. And it's fun kind of making things better. 

[00:16:48] Casey: That's so beautifully said. I hate that our time is coming to an end. These episodes go way too fast, but before we go, we like to close out and let our guests share three things that they've learned on their career journey that might help others listening.

So I will let you share your three. 

[00:17:01] Kyle: I think some of these, these three are thread lines. I think maybe we talked about a little bit today, but getting connected in the community and I can touch more on all three of these mentorship. And then lastly is continuous learning curiosity, asking questions. So getting connected in the community.

Whether it's going to events like we talked about or getting involved in the non profit community, there are so many good organizations that want and need help of people. So I was able and fortunate enough to do the United Way of Central Indiana Leadership United program to learn and better understand how I could serve on a non profit board, right?

I've been volunteering my whole life with the likes of like St. Vincent DePaul, but. and been able to give back through like physical labor, but how can I get back with my mind as well? And so I think that kind of getting involved in the community is a great way to do that. And you never know what that might lead to.

And with the Analytics Indiana events, I went to an event was able to talk with some peers and colleagues and mentors who were at Notre Dame. And so we got connected and we're working through some potential partnerships with Polygon on some cool projects. So we'll see what comes to fruition, but jumping into it and meeting people.

So I think getting involved in the community, mentorship wise, a lot of time you might not know people are your mentors or like it's not a formal mentorship, but it's there. So I think that's crucial and it doesn't have to be a what can you give me? What can I give you all the time? Maybe you just grab a drink or get coffee and connect with them every once in a while and catch up on life.

And then something does pop up and you have a good person who you can lean on or ask a question. You're in a tough spot at a business situation. You have someone you can go to. So I think the formal and informal mentorship, having those mentors can be good, but then also get back, do mentorships. A colleague and I were doing a mentorship with business students at Bishop Chetard High School.

So you should give me a take from that perspective. So I think mentors are crucial. And then lastly, on the dynamic of. Wanting to have continuous learning. I think what's been really eye opening and I've been fortunate in my two jobs at Seaspring and LDI. I've been put into roles where there's some things I know and I can make an impact right away, but other projects where I don't necessarily know every dynamic of it, engineering or data and analytics at first, not having those technical skills.

So you want to have a job where you are fortunate enough to be thrown into the deep end on some things that you're unfamiliar with, because the best way to learn is. You're gonna, you're gonna be thrown in and you'll figure it out. Smart people. And so I think having a job where you're not just doing one thing and only one thing.

Having that breath to go learn new things is only going to be impactful for your career in the long term. 

[00:19:37] Casey: Kyle already told you to find him on LinkedIn to keep the conversation going. Thank you so much for joining us today. 

[00:19:42] Kyle: I appreciate it, Casey. 

[00:19:44] Casey: We're so glad that you were able to join us today to learn about Indiana's advanced industries and how you can start or enhance your career journey.

Until next time, we hope that you'll be able to see yourself in the unlimited opportunities in Indiana.