WHEATON, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan 13, 2026--
Adair & Company (“Adair”), a procurement and supply chain value creation firm serving middle-market private equity firms and their portfolio companies, today announced the appointment of Kim Killian as Chief Revenue Officer, effective January 1, 2026.
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Kim’s appointment reflects Adair’s continued investment in helping clients realize faster EBITDA improvement, stronger cash flow, and more repeatable value creation without the friction and overhead of traditional consulting models. As CRO, Kim will focus on expanding Adair’s national reach while preserving the firm’s defining advantage: senior-only execution that quickly creates real value, builds internal capability to sustain it, and then gets out of the way.
Kim brings more than 25 years of operating and revenue leadership experience, with a decade of focus on private equity-backed middle market organizations. A three-time C-suite executive, she has built and scaled commercial engines across the full investment lifecycle, from diligence and early post-close value creation through exit readiness and acquisition.
Most recently, Kim Killian served as Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Marketing Officer at Messina Group, where she helped transform the firm into a trusted partner to PE sponsors and portfolio company leaders. During her tenure, she grew the consulting business by 10x, secured the firm’s first PE clients, and built a modern revenue operations foundation to support scalable growth.
Earlier in her career, Kim co-founded and led the commercial organization of a healthcare technology company from startup through acquisition by Optum (UnitedHealth Group), gaining firsthand experience navigating the full M&A lifecycle and competing successfully against much larger incumbents.
In her new role, Kim will oversee all revenue-generating functions, including sales, marketing, strategic partnerships, and business development. She will work closely with operating partners to deepen relationships, improve market coverage, and ensure Adair’s offerings remain tightly aligned with the outcomes sponsors and management teams care most about: speed, materiality, and durability of results.
“Kim Killian understands how PE sponsors think—and how portfolio companies actually operate,” said Noah Adair, Founder and CEO of Adair & Company. “She has built scalable growth engines before, but more importantly, she knows how to help clients win during the moments that matter most. As we grow, Kim will help us extend that impact to more sponsors and portfolio companies.”
“Adair has earned its reputation by doing the work differently,” said Kim. “Clients don’t need more slide decks. They need experienced operators who move fast, deliver real financial results, and leave their organizations stronger. My focus is on scaling that model thoughtfully—so more sponsors and portfolio companies can experience the benefits.”
About Adair & Company
Adair & Company is a procurement and supply chain value creation firm serving middle-market companies and private equity portfolio companies. Founded by procurement and supply chain veteran Noah Adair, the firm deploys senior operators to deliver fast, margin expansion and working capital improvement through strategic sourcing, inventory optimization, and comprehensive PE support across the deal cycle. With a performance-based fee structure and a track record of delivering an average 6x ROI, Adair & Company partners with clients to create value, train teams for sustainability, and drive lasting operational improvement. For more information, visit www.Adaircompany.com.
Kim Killian has been appointed Chief Revenue Officer by Adair & Company effective January 1, 2026.
The head of Tennessee's prison system is resigning, Gov. Bill Lee announced Saturday, the first major staff shake-up since Christa Pike's stunning failed execution left her unconscious and on a ventilator at a hospital.
Frank Strada, commissioner of the Department of Correction, will step down this month, Lee said. Some of the governor's fellow Republicans and other elected officials had been urging a change in leadership.
It was the second time since May that Tennessee has not been able to execute a prisoner who was seemingly moments away from death.
The governor also announced that former U.S. Attorney Ed Stanton would lead a review of what happened in Pike's death chamber. Stanton previously was named to conduct a review after Lee called off a different execution; he found in that case that Tennessee had not complied with its own lethal injection process.
Strada said in a statement that resigning was “in the best interest of Tennesseans” while Stanton's review is conducted. The state failed to execute Pike despite administering two doses of a lethal drug, pentobarbital.
“I believe this review is entirely appropriate and necessary, and I look forward to doing everything I can to help determine exactly what occurred,” Strada said.
Pike, now 50, was 18 when she and her boyfriend tortured and killed a classmate, Colleen Slemmer, in a jealous rage in 1995. She became one of the youngest women to be sent to death row.
There was no immediate response from Pike's lawyers for an update Saturday on her condition at a hospital. They had disclosed Friday that she was on a ventilator and unconscious in the hours following the execution attempt and that hospital staff were trying to clear the two doses of pentobarbital.
The shocking failure has left both sides of the death penalty debate demanding answers. Lee has ordered an independent review and halted any new executions. Strada said he believes the state “carried out its responsibilities in accordance with the established protocol.”
Pike's legal team welcomed Strada's departure but said “it does nothing to help Christa now.”
“What happened to her Wednesday reflects a systemic failure that goes far beyond any one person,” the four-lawyer team said. “We hope the governor’s call for a full, independent review will expose the profound problems within Tennessee’s entire death penalty system.”
Pike’s attorneys said they believed problems with the IV lines caused the pentobarbital to flow into her body instead of her bloodstream.
In May, Tennessee stopped the execution of Tony Carruthers after staff placed an IV into his right arm but couldn’t get a secondary IV line. The governor ordered officials to wait at least a year before trying to execute him again.
Strada took over the Correction Department in January 2023 after serving as deputy director of the Arizona Department of Corrections. In late 2024, he announced that Tennessee was changing its lethal injection protocol and would use only pentobarbital.
Four people have been executed in Tennessee since 2025, according to the Correction Department.
Court filings show that Strada's job included overseeing executions in Arizona when they resumed in 2022 following an eight-year break.
Clarence Dixon was the first that year. The medical team had trouble finding a vein to administer the lethal drugs and finally made an incision in his groin area. The process took about 25 minutes.
That same year in Arizona, medical staff preparing Frank Atwood for execution initially could not locate a vein in his right arm but inserted the IV in his right hand — at Atwood’s suggestion, said Henry Brean, an Arizona Daily Star reporter who was a witness.
Strada announced Murray Hooper's execution by lethal injection, the third in 2022. There was an unsuccessful attempt to insert an IV line in his right arm. The IV in Hooper's leg was inserted into his femoral artery.
FILE - Tennessee Department of Correction Commissioner Frank Strada speaks to the media after the execution of Harold Wayne Nichols, Dec. 11, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, File)
