As CEO of SAS, Warren Kohm steers the company’s strategy with a focus on growth, strategic partnerships and expanding client relationships across space, defense and intelligence.
Kohm brings 25 years of executive management experience to the role. He was promoted to CEO after serving as the company’s platform chief financial officer, guiding SAS through the acquisitions of Concordia, Willbrook, Quintron and SAS itself.
He admits he didn’t set out to become a CEO, but he’s long been drawn to corporate finance — making companies more efficient and profitable while driving sustainable growth. That passion led him to earn a master’s degree in business administration from Johns Hopkins University and a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Virginia.
His expertise in finance and transformation was honed in senior roles at Accenture, AMS, Booz Allen Hamilton, Capgemini, Alion Science and Technology, and Red River before joining SAS. When Godspeed Capital, SAS’ private equity owner, asked him to take the helm, Kohm led the company through a successful shift into a unified space and defense platform.
“I am very excited about this company and the prospects we have in today’s time with Space being so hot and so many opportunities and impact to our National Security and overall space domain,” Kohm said.
Below, he shares more about his career path, his connection to SAS’ mission and why mentorship is critical in GovCon.
Why was this the path you chose, and how influential was it to your career?
I didn’t initially set out to be a CEO. When I graduated from college in the ’90s, I was an analyst in the finance world and then became a computer programmer building systems. It was not until my third job — about six years out of college — that I got to use my economics background and start to make a difference in a company and its back-office, and start to make strategic moves to help them grow, improve, and influence bids, M&A and transformation.
Do you have a personal connection to the current mission you support?
Yes. I do. I grew up on Long Island, New York, where working for companies like Northrop Grumman was a big deal (out of Bethpage, Long Island). Many of my role models growing up were tied to the space race, Apollo missions and the emergence of the United States going to the moon, etc. That had a formidable impact on my life. My family and neighbors (all engineers) were always making, machining and constructing things. My father was a physicist and R&D guy and had a think tank.
Today, working and leading a company that builds, prototypes, machines, tests, and helps the space and defense industry in its mission, is a true full-circle feeling for me.
What are your current top priorities and responsibilities? How do these relate to your company’s overall mission/growth strategy?
Our company is in the process of rebranding and renaming itself, which will be announced August 4 for the Space and Missile Defense Conference in Huntsville, Alabama. My focus is to continue to embrace the rapid change in our industry and help drive our four divisions across one combined company to make a difference in our delivery and customers’ missions.
Where do you and your team see growth opportunities in your current field or portfolio you support, or what do you anticipate to be your customers’ top pain points?
We continue to see growth in three core sectors: Defense, Intelligence Agencies and Commercial/Civil Space, as we drive focus on hardware, products and engineering services.
How are you and your team planning to address/prepare for these opportunities?
Our customers are looking for our company to produce and deliver creative solutions and engineer hardware, products and prototypes at a rate that is faster and at a lower cost. Our company has stepped into this high-demand area and is answering the call by our Mission partners.
How important is mentorship & networking in GovCon? Were they influential to your career?
Mentorship is incredibly important. As CEO, I personally have mentors supporting me and guiding me in this new role, along with several key partners and GovCon relationships. Knowing how to lean on others and give back to the community and GovCon world is important. This past we week we just picked up a protégé partner and look forward to mentoring them.
What is something most people don’t know about you?
As a former wrestler, collegiate athlete and 4-minute miler, I look forward to the grind and putting in the hard work. I use the losses as fuel to seek out the important wins and look to bring folks along the way who want to learn how to win the right way (hard work, dedication and focus).