Inside FDH Aero’s Billion-Dollar Distribution Strategy w/ Ian Walsh [Replay]

Most people think the aerospace supply chain is crawling back to normal after the pandemic. But that’s not what’s happening.

The industry is scaling in a permanently elevated demand environment. Commercial aviation is rebuilding. Defense budgets are structurally higher. New platforms like EVTOL, drones, hypersonics, and space are moving into production.

This isn’t a strain; it’s a structural transformation.

And in a world obsessed with engines and airframes, the real leverage sits in the smallest parts. At the same time, complexity is rising. Aircraft are lighter, more electronic, and more integrated. Tolerances are tighter, and the margin for error is gone.

This is where FDH Aero comes in: distribution reimagined as a strategic capability. In a high-velocity, high-complexity market, reliability becomes a strategy.

How is FDH embedding itself within OEM production lines while operating under private-equity intensity? And what kind of leadership does that require?

In this special replay episode, I’m joined by the CEO of FDH Aero, Ian Walsh.

We unpack how FDH Aero scaled to a billion dollars by mastering the parts that make flight possible. We also discuss why the next decade of aerospace growth may be less about building more airplanes and more about controlling the hardware layer beneath them.

You’ll also learn:

Why aerospace supply chains aren’t “recovering”; they’re structurally transforming

How a single missing bolt can shut down a billion-dollar production line

Why distribution is becoming a strategic layer, not just a transactional one