As chief financial officer, John Hooyman has helped professionalize Germantown-based Kesslers Diamond Center Inc. from both a financial and an administration standpoint, says company chief executive officer Joe Gehrke.
“John is our first ever full-time CFO, so there was quite a bit of adjustment for an entrepreneurial-led organization to evolve the finance function. He took the time to get to know the culture of the company and now, four years later, is a lead driver and advocate for the culture,” Gehrke said.
“In addition, John has taken real leadership in understanding the nuances of being an ESOP and has also taken initiative within the broader ESOP community by establishing a group of local ESOP CFOs for a regular meeting to discuss business challenges,” he added. “As an ESOP, having a strong financial leader at our company allows us to balance the growth of the company while maintaining financial flexibility to handle our obligations to our former shareholders.”
