If you'd told Neil Shah when he was an aerospace engineering student in Air Force ROTC that he'd one day lead the only organization in the world at the intersection of construction and financial management, he would have thought you were out of your mind. He wanted to fly jets. Instead, he ended up in engine shops, then real estate services, then a front-row seat to the Enron bankruptcy, and eventually to the helm of CFMA — the Construction Financial Management Association — where he's now championing a mission that touches every corner of the $22 trillion industry construction is projected to become by 2040.
My conversation with Neil for this episode of From Boots to Boardroom covered an enormous amount of ground — from the skilled labor crisis to AI's role in construction finance, from suicide prevention to what it takes to attract the next generation into an industry that has, as Neil put it, "an identity crisis." But the thread running through all of it was this: the construction financial professional is far more important than most people realize, and recognizing that fact might be the key to unlocking the industry's future.
Neil's path to construction leadership is one of the most fascinating origin stories I've heard on this show. He started life as an aerospace engineer, commissioned through Air Force ROTC with dreams of flying jets for the United States Air Force. When he went into reserves instead of active duty, he landed at Pratt & Whitney, working in engine shops and on flight lines — and fell in love with aviation.
It was at Pratt & Whitney, stationed at Pan Am, where Neil learned some of his most formative leadership lessons. Not from executives in corner offices, but from the mechanics who kept those aircraft flying every day. "The hidden heroes," as I called them during our conversation, and Neil agreed wholeheartedly. "Those hidden heroes are what make airlines operate day in and day out," he said. "That's where I cut my teeth."
From aviation, Neil's career took a turn that introduced me to a concept I think more people need to understand: intrapreneurship. Unlike entrepreneurship — where you bootstrap a startup from scratch — intrapreneurship is when an established organization invests in a new venture but cultivates it as if it were a startup. Neil did exactly this at Hartford Steam Boiler, a Fortune 500 insurance company that was over a hundred years old. His team built a facility management outsource platform — essentially an "HMO for buildings" — managing 20,000 locations for retailers like Blockbuster and Exxon with 2,000 different service providers.
They grew the business and sold it to Enron. Yes, that Enron. "A lot of smart people at Enron," Neil noted with characteristic understatement. "But my MBA was nothing compared to the life lessons and the business lessons I learned with the bankruptcy." His team managed to sell the company out of the estate and place it where it continues to thrive today.
It's a reminder that some of the best business education doesn't come from a classroom — it comes from navigating the unexpected.
Since 1981, CFMA has been building community and creating education for construction financial professionals — CFOs, controllers, accounting professionals at construction firms, along with the broader ecosystem of CPA firms, software companies, insurance providers, bankers, and equipment suppliers. With over 11,000 members across 90-plus chapters in the United States, it's a remarkably engaged community. Neil loves to say CFMA has "the most engaged membership on the planet," and from my experience with the very active DFW chapter, I believe him.
But here's what really struck me about Neil's vision for CFMA: he doesn't just want to serve construction financial professionals. He wants to drive recognition for the impact they have on the entire construction industry. And he's right to push for that.
I shared a personal failure on the show that illustrates why. About five years ago, Think Power Solutions was growing rapidly. Our customer would assign a unique 16-digit ID for each project — required for proper invoicing and payment. Instead of flowing through our finance team, these IDs went to the field team, who would occasionally enter them incorrectly: a zero instead of an O, one wrong digit. Time got tracked against the wrong project. Invoices went out wrong. We didn't get paid.
We nearly lost $10 million because of that disconnect.
It was a painful lesson, but it led to two transformative outcomes. First, it was one of the sparks that led me to create KYRO — because I realized many construction companies face the same field-to-office disconnect. Second, I hired Larry LeBlanc, who I'd argue is one of the best CFOs in the industry. Since then, our working capital improved by 100% even while the business grew by 57%. Our invoices became more accurate, our time tracking improved, and we got paid on time.
As Neil summed it up perfectly: "A contractor doesn't run out of work — they run out of cash." Having a strong financial professional who can bridge the gap between operations and finance isn't a nice-to-have. It's existential.
Neil and I spent a good portion of our conversation on the economic landscape facing construction. The headwinds are real: inflation, interest rates, supply chain disruptions, tariffs affecting steel, aluminum, lumber, and concrete. CFMA's quarterly confidence index showed a significant drop in the second quarter before a modest uptick in the third.
But Neil's outlook isn't doom and gloom — it's what he carefully termed "cautious optimism." The backlog is there. You don't start and stop construction projects on a dime, so firms that already have work in the pipeline will continue to recognize revenue. The real question is whether uncertainty will slow the pace of new projects starting in 2026 and beyond.
The bright spots are significant. Data center investment is approaching trillions of dollars globally — and that requires not just the facilities themselves but the electricity, transmission and distribution infrastructure, and water capabilities to support them. Semiconductor manufacturing plants are being reshored to the Midwest and Arizona. Infrastructure needs for water, waste, roads, tunnels, bridges, and airports remain enormous.
"We may not see the office building construction that we saw a decade ago," Neil observed — both of us sitting in our home offices for the conversation — "but you will see it in other ways."
The Fed's recent rate cut is a positive signal, and CFMA's chief economic policy advisor, Anirban Basu of SAGE Policy Group, is fairly bullish that a recession can be avoided even if there's a slowdown. Combined with the massive tax bill working its way through and the structural demand for infrastructure globally, construction looks poised to remain a buoyant industry — provided firms can navigate the near-term uncertainty.
And who helps them navigate that uncertainty? The construction financial professional.
One of the most sobering moments of our conversation came when we turned to mental health in the construction industry. I've discussed this topic with other guests on the show, including RL Grubbs, but Neil shared a statistic that stopped me cold.
About 1,000 people die on construction sites every year due to safety incidents. We pay enormous attention to that — as we should. But 5,000 construction workers die from suicide every year. Five times as many. The construction industry has the highest suicide rate of any industry in America.
The causes are interconnected: long hours, extended time away from home, high divorce rates, injuries that lead to opioid addiction, and the mental health challenges that compound all of it. Neil emphasized that taking care of mental health is every bit as important as taking care of physical safety on the job site. "When an industry has talent and skilled labor shortages, you've got to find ways of not only bringing people in, but taking care of them once they join the industry."
CFMA has been a leading force behind the Construction Industry Alliance for Suicide Prevention (CIASP), and one of Neil's team members, Kristi Domboski, will chair CIASP next year. It's a commitment that goes beyond education and professional development — it's about the fundamental wellbeing of the people who build America.
I shared my theory about how AI could help: imagine systems that nudge project managers, safety professionals, and CFOs when data shows someone has been away from home for four weeks straight, has been driving excessive miles, or has been working dangerously long hours. Not to replace human connection, but to prompt it — a phone call home, a coffee break, a week off. Neil resonated with the idea immediately: "It's similar to how cars today tell the driver they've been driving too long and need a coffee break."
But he also made an important point: the data and analytics can flag the risk, but they can't replace the human response. "You can prevent somebody's mental health from declining just by showing that you care. Being there."
Being there. Being not just physically present but mentally and emotionally present. That's something I drive with my people all the time, and I was glad to hear Neil reinforce it.
Neil identified talent as the number one non-financial risk keeping construction leaders up at night. The skilled labor shortage has been persistent for over a decade, and it's not getting better on its own.
The problem, as Neil sees it, is partly an identity crisis. "Unless you were born in a real estate or construction family, you don't intentionally end up there in many cases." He wanted to fly jets. I came to the industry through engineering. Most people in construction arrived by accident rather than by design.
To change that, we need to change the narrative. "If you're in construction, it doesn't mean you're remodeling kitchens," Neil said. "You are making where people live, work, play." Construction drives economies locally and globally. It involves cutting-edge technology, global capital flows, complex engineering, and the kind of tangible impact on society that few other industries can match.
I added something from my own experience: in an industry that struggles to attract talent, the odds of standing out and achieving success are actually higher than in oversaturated fields. You're competing against a smaller pool. It's one in 100,000 rather than one in 10 million. As I told the audience, my friend Darrell Hallmark — who never finished high school and earned his GED — has made millions in the construction industry because it rewards what you can do, not where you went to school.
Neil agreed: "The competition is Google and Goldman Sachs. We need to attract the best and the brightest into construction and have them see that it's a career path that not only is great for them, but has an impact on society."
CFMA is part of a coalition called Careers Building Communities that has brought together 40 different built environment organizations to define what a career in construction and real estate really means — and to make it an aspirational career path rather than an accidental one. With the cost of higher education rising and the payback from college investment becoming less certain, promoting the trades early in a person's education is more important than ever.
When I asked Neil about AI's role in construction, his answer was unequivocal: "It's already having a role. It's not the future, it is now."
Construction has historically been a slow adopter of technology, but that's changing. Modular construction, robotics, and advanced site management are gaining traction. In the back office, AI is improving WIP (work in progress) reporting, data analytics, accounts payable and receivable — creating what Neil described as "a step change improvement in the productivity and the impact that construction financial professionals can have on their businesses."
The fear that AI will eliminate jobs? Neil doesn't buy it. "I think it's more about AI making organizations more productive, and that more productive capacity will create other jobs and different jobs." The role of the construction financial professional as a trusted advisor — instilling confidence, managing risk, making strategic decisions — will only grow in importance as AI handles more of the routine analytical work.
And here's a point I found particularly compelling: many of the hardest-to-fill construction roles — plumbers, electricians, carpenters, linemen — are among the jobs least likely to be disrupted by AI. The hands that build America aren't easily automated. That's another selling point for attracting the next generation.
Looking ahead to 2040, Neil's vision for construction finance centers on data. Yes, debits and credits will always matter. But the construction financial professional of the future will be defined by their ability to use analytics to drive decisions in a low-margin business where running out of working capital is the number one existential threat.
CFMA is building toward this future with tools like their Financial Benchmarker and Heavy Equipment Comparator, which Neil envisions combining with staffing and technology metrics to create an industry standard for best-in-class operations. The CFO who can look at that data holistically — financial performance, field operations, staffing patterns, safety metrics, technology adoption — and translate it into strategic decisions about which markets to enter, which asset classes to pursue, and which projects to take on will be indispensable.
It's not just about keeping the books. It's about steering the ship.
Neil lives in New Jersey, and when I (half-jokingly) installed him as governor, his answer revealed the same strategic thinking he brings to CFMA. "You need to be from here to love it here," he laughed, acknowledging the state's reputation for high taxes, crowded roads, and occasionally irritable residents. But New Jersey has the beaches, the farmland, the mountains, access to New York City and Philadelphia, and proximity to some of the best talent in the world.
His priority? Making New Jersey more attractive for businesses — the way Texas, Tennessee, and other states have done. "That's the nucleus of how we're going to continue to thrive as a state," he said. It's the same principle he applies to the construction industry: create the right environment, and the talent and investment will follow.
My conversation with Neil Shah reinforced something I've believed for years but didn't always practice early in my career: the financial professional isn't just a back-office function. In construction — where margins are thin, cash is king, and the bridge between field and office can make or break a company — the CFO, controller, and accounting professional are as critical to success as the best superintendent or project manager.
Neil's journey from fighter jets to engine shops to Enron's bankruptcy to leading CFMA is as unlikely and inspiring as any Boots to Boardroom story we've featured. He brings the perspective of an engineer, the lessons of an intrapreneur, the rigor of an MBA, and the heart of someone who genuinely cares about the people who build this country — from their financial wellbeing to their mental health.
If you're a construction financial professional, or if you aspire to be one, I'd encourage you to check out CFMA at cfma.org/join. And if you're a young person wondering whether construction is a viable career path — it's not just viable. It's essential, it's impactful, and it might just be the best-kept secret in the American economy.
Thank you, Neil, for a conversation that was as educational as it was inspiring. Go Blue — but Roll Tide will always be a close second around here.
From Boots to Boardroom shares the journey of those who power America — from the job site to the boardroom, leading with grit, tenacity, empathy, and vision. Not every leader sits in a corner office.
Listen to the full episode with Neil Shah and subscribe to the podcast here.
This episode is sponsored by KYRO AI: Digitize work and maximize profits. Learn more at www.kyro.ai
If you'd told Neil Shah when he was an aerospace engineering student in Air Force ROTC that he'd one day lead the only organization in the world at the intersection of construction and financial management, he would have thought you were out of your mind. He wanted to fly jets. Instead, he ended up in engine shops, then real estate services, then a front-row seat to the Enron bankruptcy, and eventually to the helm of CFMA — the Construction Financial Management Association — where he's now championing a mission that touches every corner of the $22 trillion industry construction is projected to become by 2040.
My conversation with Neil for this episode of From Boots to Boardroom covered an enormous amount of ground — from the skilled labor crisis to AI's role in construction finance, from suicide prevention to what it takes to attract the next generation into an industry that has, as Neil put it, "an identity crisis." But the thread running through all of it was this: the construction financial professional is far more important than most people realize, and recognizing that fact might be the key to unlocking the industry's future.
Neil's path to construction leadership is one of the most fascinating origin stories I've heard on this show. He started life as an aerospace engineer, commissioned through Air Force ROTC with dreams of flying jets for the United States Air Force. When he went into reserves instead of active duty, he landed at Pratt & Whitney, working in engine shops and on flight lines — and fell in love with aviation.
It was at Pratt & Whitney, stationed at Pan Am, where Neil learned some of his most formative leadership lessons. Not from executives in corner offices, but from the mechanics who kept those aircraft flying every day. "The hidden heroes," as I called them during our conversation, and Neil agreed wholeheartedly. "Those hidden heroes are what make airlines operate day in and day out," he said. "That's where I cut my teeth."
From aviation, Neil's career took a turn that introduced me to a concept I think more people need to understand: intrapreneurship. Unlike entrepreneurship — where you bootstrap a startup from scratch — intrapreneurship is when an established organization invests in a new venture but cultivates it as if it were a startup. Neil did exactly this at Hartford Steam Boiler, a Fortune 500 insurance company that was over a hundred years old. His team built a facility management outsource platform — essentially an "HMO for buildings" — managing 20,000 locations for retailers like Blockbuster and Exxon with 2,000 different service providers.
They grew the business and sold it to Enron. Yes, that Enron. "A lot of smart people at Enron," Neil noted with characteristic understatement. "But my MBA was nothing compared to the life lessons and the business lessons I learned with the bankruptcy." His team managed to sell the company out of the estate and place it where it continues to thrive today.
It's a reminder that some of the best business education doesn't come from a classroom — it comes from navigating the unexpected.
Since 1981, CFMA has been building community and creating education for construction financial professionals — CFOs, controllers, accounting professionals at construction firms, along with the broader ecosystem of CPA firms, software companies, insurance providers, bankers, and equipment suppliers. With over 11,000 members across 90-plus chapters in the United States, it's a remarkably engaged community. Neil loves to say CFMA has "the most engaged membership on the planet," and from my experience with the very active DFW chapter, I believe him.
But here's what really struck me about Neil's vision for CFMA: he doesn't just want to serve construction financial professionals. He wants to drive recognition for the impact they have on the entire construction industry. And he's right to push for that.
I shared a personal failure on the show that illustrates why. About five years ago, Think Power Solutions was growing rapidly. Our customer would assign a unique 16-digit ID for each project — required for proper invoicing and payment. Instead of flowing through our finance team, these IDs went to the field team, who would occasionally enter them incorrectly: a zero instead of an O, one wrong digit. Time got tracked against the wrong project. Invoices went out wrong. We didn't get paid.
We nearly lost $10 million because of that disconnect.
It was a painful lesson, but it led to two transformative outcomes. First, it was one of the sparks that led me to create KYRO — because I realized many construction companies face the same field-to-office disconnect. Second, I hired Larry LeBlanc, who I'd argue is one of the best CFOs in the industry. Since then, our working capital improved by 100% even while the business grew by 57%. Our invoices became more accurate, our time tracking improved, and we got paid on time.
As Neil summed it up perfectly: "A contractor doesn't run out of work — they run out of cash." Having a strong financial professional who can bridge the gap between operations and finance isn't a nice-to-have. It's existential.
Neil and I spent a good portion of our conversation on the economic landscape facing construction. The headwinds are real: inflation, interest rates, supply chain disruptions, tariffs affecting steel, aluminum, lumber, and concrete. CFMA's quarterly confidence index showed a significant drop in the second quarter before a modest uptick in the third.
But Neil's outlook isn't doom and gloom — it's what he carefully termed "cautious optimism." The backlog is there. You don't start and stop construction projects on a dime, so firms that already have work in the pipeline will continue to recognize revenue. The real question is whether uncertainty will slow the pace of new projects starting in 2026 and beyond.
The bright spots are significant. Data center investment is approaching trillions of dollars globally — and that requires not just the facilities themselves but the electricity, transmission and distribution infrastructure, and water capabilities to support them. Semiconductor manufacturing plants are being reshored to the Midwest and Arizona. Infrastructure needs for water, waste, roads, tunnels, bridges, and airports remain enormous.
"We may not see the office building construction that we saw a decade ago," Neil observed — both of us sitting in our home offices for the conversation — "but you will see it in other ways."
The Fed's recent rate cut is a positive signal, and CFMA's chief economic policy advisor, Anirban Basu of SAGE Policy Group, is fairly bullish that a recession can be avoided even if there's a slowdown. Combined with the massive tax bill working its way through and the structural demand for infrastructure globally, construction looks poised to remain a buoyant industry — provided firms can navigate the near-term uncertainty.
And who helps them navigate that uncertainty? The construction financial professional.
One of the most sobering moments of our conversation came when we turned to mental health in the construction industry. I've discussed this topic with other guests on the show, including RL Grubbs, but Neil shared a statistic that stopped me cold.
About 1,000 people die on construction sites every year due to safety incidents. We pay enormous attention to that — as we should. But 5,000 construction workers die from suicide every year. Five times as many. The construction industry has the highest suicide rate of any industry in America.
The causes are interconnected: long hours, extended time away from home, high divorce rates, injuries that lead to opioid addiction, and the mental health challenges that compound all of it. Neil emphasized that taking care of mental health is every bit as important as taking care of physical safety on the job site. "When an industry has talent and skilled labor shortages, you've got to find ways of not only bringing people in, but taking care of them once they join the industry."
CFMA has been a leading force behind the Construction Industry Alliance for Suicide Prevention (CIASP), and one of Neil's team members, Kristi Domboski, will chair CIASP next year. It's a commitment that goes beyond education and professional development — it's about the fundamental wellbeing of the people who build America.
I shared my theory about how AI could help: imagine systems that nudge project managers, safety professionals, and CFOs when data shows someone has been away from home for four weeks straight, has been driving excessive miles, or has been working dangerously long hours. Not to replace human connection, but to prompt it — a phone call home, a coffee break, a week off. Neil resonated with the idea immediately: "It's similar to how cars today tell the driver they've been driving too long and need a coffee break."
But he also made an important point: the data and analytics can flag the risk, but they can't replace the human response. "You can prevent somebody's mental health from declining just by showing that you care. Being there."
Being there. Being not just physically present but mentally and emotionally present. That's something I drive with my people all the time, and I was glad to hear Neil reinforce it.
Neil identified talent as the number one non-financial risk keeping construction leaders up at night. The skilled labor shortage has been persistent for over a decade, and it's not getting better on its own.
The problem, as Neil sees it, is partly an identity crisis. "Unless you were born in a real estate or construction family, you don't intentionally end up there in many cases." He wanted to fly jets. I came to the industry through engineering. Most people in construction arrived by accident rather than by design.
To change that, we need to change the narrative. "If you're in construction, it doesn't mean you're remodeling kitchens," Neil said. "You are making where people live, work, play." Construction drives economies locally and globally. It involves cutting-edge technology, global capital flows, complex engineering, and the kind of tangible impact on society that few other industries can match.
I added something from my own experience: in an industry that struggles to attract talent, the odds of standing out and achieving success are actually higher than in oversaturated fields. You're competing against a smaller pool. It's one in 100,000 rather than one in 10 million. As I told the audience, my friend Darrell Hallmark — who never finished high school and earned his GED — has made millions in the construction industry because it rewards what you can do, not where you went to school.
Neil agreed: "The competition is Google and Goldman Sachs. We need to attract the best and the brightest into construction and have them see that it's a career path that not only is great for them, but has an impact on society."
CFMA is part of a coalition called Careers Building Communities that has brought together 40 different built environment organizations to define what a career in construction and real estate really means — and to make it an aspirational career path rather than an accidental one. With the cost of higher education rising and the payback from college investment becoming less certain, promoting the trades early in a person's education is more important than ever.
When I asked Neil about AI's role in construction, his answer was unequivocal: "It's already having a role. It's not the future, it is now."
Construction has historically been a slow adopter of technology, but that's changing. Modular construction, robotics, and advanced site management are gaining traction. In the back office, AI is improving WIP (work in progress) reporting, data analytics, accounts payable and receivable — creating what Neil described as "a step change improvement in the productivity and the impact that construction financial professionals can have on their businesses."
The fear that AI will eliminate jobs? Neil doesn't buy it. "I think it's more about AI making organizations more productive, and that more productive capacity will create other jobs and different jobs." The role of the construction financial professional as a trusted advisor — instilling confidence, managing risk, making strategic decisions — will only grow in importance as AI handles more of the routine analytical work.
And here's a point I found particularly compelling: many of the hardest-to-fill construction roles — plumbers, electricians, carpenters, linemen — are among the jobs least likely to be disrupted by AI. The hands that build America aren't easily automated. That's another selling point for attracting the next generation.
Looking ahead to 2040, Neil's vision for construction finance centers on data. Yes, debits and credits will always matter. But the construction financial professional of the future will be defined by their ability to use analytics to drive decisions in a low-margin business where running out of working capital is the number one existential threat.
CFMA is building toward this future with tools like their Financial Benchmarker and Heavy Equipment Comparator, which Neil envisions combining with staffing and technology metrics to create an industry standard for best-in-class operations. The CFO who can look at that data holistically — financial performance, field operations, staffing patterns, safety metrics, technology adoption — and translate it into strategic decisions about which markets to enter, which asset classes to pursue, and which projects to take on will be indispensable.
It's not just about keeping the books. It's about steering the ship.
Neil lives in New Jersey, and when I (half-jokingly) installed him as governor, his answer revealed the same strategic thinking he brings to CFMA. "You need to be from here to love it here," he laughed, acknowledging the state's reputation for high taxes, crowded roads, and occasionally irritable residents. But New Jersey has the beaches, the farmland, the mountains, access to New York City and Philadelphia, and proximity to some of the best talent in the world.
His priority? Making New Jersey more attractive for businesses — the way Texas, Tennessee, and other states have done. "That's the nucleus of how we're going to continue to thrive as a state," he said. It's the same principle he applies to the construction industry: create the right environment, and the talent and investment will follow.
My conversation with Neil Shah reinforced something I've believed for years but didn't always practice early in my career: the financial professional isn't just a back-office function. In construction — where margins are thin, cash is king, and the bridge between field and office can make or break a company — the CFO, controller, and accounting professional are as critical to success as the best superintendent or project manager.
Neil's journey from fighter jets to engine shops to Enron's bankruptcy to leading CFMA is as unlikely and inspiring as any Boots to Boardroom story we've featured. He brings the perspective of an engineer, the lessons of an intrapreneur, the rigor of an MBA, and the heart of someone who genuinely cares about the people who build this country — from their financial wellbeing to their mental health.
If you're a construction financial professional, or if you aspire to be one, I'd encourage you to check out CFMA at cfma.org/join. And if you're a young person wondering whether construction is a viable career path — it's not just viable. It's essential, it's impactful, and it might just be the best-kept secret in the American economy.
Thank you, Neil, for a conversation that was as educational as it was inspiring. Go Blue — but Roll Tide will always be a close second around here.
From Boots to Boardroom shares the journey of those who power America — from the job site to the boardroom, leading with grit, tenacity, empathy, and vision. Not every leader sits in a corner office.
Listen to the full episode with Neil Shah and subscribe to the podcast here.
This episode is sponsored by KYRO AI: Digitize work and maximize profits. Learn more at www.kyro.ai
Hari Vasudevan, PE, is a serial entrepreneur and engineer focused on AI-driven solutions for utilities, construction, and storm response. As Founder and CEO of KYRO AI, he leads the development of AI-powered software that helps utility, vegetation, and field service teams digitize operations, improve storm response and restoration, and reduce operational risk. He also serves as Vice Chair and Strategic Advisor for the Edison Electric Institute’s Transmission Subject Area Committee and holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering with professional engineering licensure in multiple states.
