Stephen Kohler
Stephen Kohler, Audira’s intuitive founder and CEO, isn’t your ordinary executive coach or strategic thinker. He is a University of Chicago MBA-trained executive with P&L experience who led global marketing and strategy departments for blue-chip and industry-leading brands including Weber, Kraft, and Shure. Seeking to focus his career more on the people side of business — where the true power of every organization resides — Stephen founded Audira to help people find clarity, direction, and purpose in their work.
Stephen has also brought his executive and leadership experience back to the University of Chicago. He has supported the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation’s Founders Circle as an executive coach and has served as a leadership instructor at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, supporting Professor Harry Davis.
In addition to his business background, Stephen holds a BA in philosophy from Northwestern University and is a lifelong musician, songwriter, recording artist, and performer. In 2025, he published The Leadership Anthem: How Listening Like a Musician Can Improve Your Leadership at Work, bringing together his experience in business, leadership, coaching, and music. He is also a Voting Member of the Recording Academy, the organization behind the GRAMMY Awards, recognizing his professional work as a recording artist and songwriter.
The common thread running through Stephen’s work — as an executive, coach, author, instructor, and musician — is a desire to see people work authentically and in concert to achieve meaningful goals. He knows the magic that can happen when people truly listen to one another, find their individual voices, and contribute them toward something larger than themselves.