Craig Leach, MBA

I help CEOs, CHROs, and private owners build senior leadership teams that actually stay and perform. With 30+ years of leading and hiring teams myself, I run executive searches where 96% of placements are still in the role at 12 months and 94% at 24 months.​Who I work with:CEOs, CHROs, and PE/owner‑operators who need C‑Suite, VP, and Director‑level leaders.Organizations in agribusiness, finance, food &amp; beverage, and pet that are navigating growth, transformation, or succession.Senior leaders who can’t afford a mis‑hire in a key role.The problems I solveCritical executive roles sitting open for months and dragging on performance.Costly mis‑hires that damage culture, credibility, and momentum.Leadership transitions where the wrong hire can set the business back years.How I workExecutive search with a defined, transparent process from intake through onboarding.Deep discovery around business model, culture, and success profile before we ever go to market.Direct outreach to targeted leaders, not just posting and praying.Structured interviews and rigorous vetting so you see a tight shortlist of high‑probability finalists.What you can expect96% of placements still in role at 12 months; 94% at 24 months.​Reduced “commercial downtime” from open leadership roles.Fewer mis‑hires, stronger succession benches, and better retention at the top of the house.Ways to work with meRetained executive search for C‑Suite, VP, and Director roles.Contingency search for key commercial, technical, and leadership contributors.Executive coaching for senior leaders and high‑potential successors.When to call meYou’re planning a leadership change in the next 6–24 months.You’ve outgrown your current leadership team and need a different caliber of talent.You want a search partner who understands P&amp;L, operations, and markets—not just résumés.Ready to talk about your senior leadership hiring roadmap?Book time with me here: https://calendly.com/6202205911/30min

President

Craig Leach

I met a Director-level leader 24 months ago.

No clear path to the C-suite. Just potential waiting to be unlocked.

Here's what the journey looked like:

• Month 3: Identified leadership gaps and blind spots
• Month 12: Placed in VP role, first C-suite step
• Month 24: Appointed CEO of a growing firm

Today, they're leading a full organization with confidence and clarity.

By next year, they'll be scaling a team and driving enterprise-level growth.

The reason it worked: mindset shifted before the title ever did.

To move from Director to CEO

To stop being overlooked for the top seat

To lead with authority, not just competence

Over 24 months, I helped them:

• Build a C-suite personal brand
• Master executive presence and influence
• Navigate high-stakes career decisions

They mastered the transition from functional expert to enterprise leader.

And recently, they sent me a message I won't forget.

My executive coaching and search process can help you:

• Identify your fastest path to the C-suite
• Close the gaps holding you back
• Land the role you've been building toward

The seat at the top doesn't find you. You build toward it.

DM me if you're ready to start.

Executive Search for C‑Suite & VPs | I Help CEOs & CHROs Build Senior Leadership Teams That Stay | 96% 12‑Month, 94% 24‑Month Retention | 2x Top Voice

The CEO who hired his replacement—and didn't know it.

I placed a VP of Operations for a mid-sized manufacturing company three years ago.

The CEO called me personally. "Craig, I need someone who can eventually run this place. Someone better than me at the stuff I'm not good at."

Rare self-awareness. I found him exactly that.

The VP came in and delivered. Streamlined operations. Built relationships with the board. Earned trust across every department.

By year two, something shifted.

The CEO started cc'ing me on emails. "Just checking in." Asking if I'd heard any "rumblings." Wanting to grab coffee more often.

He never said it directly. But I knew.

He was watching his replacement outgrow him in real time.

Here's what I've seen in 200+ placements:

The CEOs who struggle with this moment share a pattern:
• They hired for capability but expected a ceiling
• They wanted transformation but not succession
• They said "run this place" but meant "run it for me"

The CEOs who handle it well? They do something counterintuitive.

They accelerate the transition.

That manufacturing CEO? He called me six months ago. Not to complain. To tell me he'd recommended his VP to the board as his successor.

"I hired him to be better than me. Turns out he is."

He's now chairman. The former VP is CEO. Revenue is up 23%.

Most executives won't admit this:

The hardest part of hiring great talent isn't finding them.

It's being secure enough to let them surpass you.

Have you ever hired someone who outgrew you?

The question that predicts your next 5 years...

"Should I take the bigger title or the better boss?"

I hear this constantly. Executives sitting on two offers. One has the title. The other has the leader.

Here's what I tell them:

In 200+ placements, I've tracked what happens next. The pattern is brutal.

The executives who chase titles? They win on LinkedIn for six months. Then they spend the next four years recovering from a boss who didn't develop them, didn't protect them, and didn't care.

One VP I had previously placed chose the Chief title over the better leader.

Eighteen months later, he called me. His CEO took credit for every win. Threw him under the bus to the board. Blocked his access to key decisions.

He left with a damaged reputation and two years of his career he'll never get back.

The executives who choose the better boss? Different story.

They get:
• Air cover when things go wrong
• Access to rooms they wouldn't be in otherwise
• Honest feedback that actually makes them better
• A reference that opens doors for decades

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗜 𝗔𝘀𝗸 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗘𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲:

"Will this person make you better or just make you busier?"

Titles are negotiable. You can earn them anywhere.

A great boss? That's rare. That's the accelerator.

The best executives I know didn't climb the fastest ladder. They climbed the right one.

Who's the boss that shaped your career most?

A CEO told me last week he's terrified of AI.

Not because it's moving too fast.

Because his leadership team refuses to touch it.

He's 58 years old. Built his company from scratch. Runs a $400M manufacturing business.

And he's learning AI faster than his 40-year-old executives.

He showed me his workflow. Uses Claude for strategic analysis. Built custom GPTs for competitive intelligence. Spends an hour every morning experimenting.

His C-suite? They've delegated AI to IT. Call it "a tech thing." Haven't opened ChatGPT since the hype died down.

Last month, he asked his CFO a simple question: "How could AI change our forecasting process?"

The CFO's answer: "I'll have someone look into it."

That's when he called me.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗜'𝗺 𝗦𝗲𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴:

The executives who dismiss AI aren't just behind on technology.

They're signaling something deeper: resistance to change, comfort with the status quo, unwillingness to feel like a beginner again.

That's a leadership problem, not a skills gap.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗜 𝗔𝘀𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗛𝗶𝗺:

"Do you want to coach them into the future, or recruit people who are already there?"

He sat with that for a long time.

Then he said: "I've given them two years. They've had every resource. Every opportunity. They just don't care."

Some gaps can be closed with training.

Some gaps reveal who's willing to evolve and who isn't.

200+ placements taught me this: The executives who thrive aren't the ones with the best credentials.

They're the ones who stay curious when it's uncomfortable.

When's the last time your leadership team learned something that made them feel like beginners?

Performance reviews are corporate theater.

I've coached executives through hundreds of them—on both sides of the table.

Here's what I've learned: The words don't mean what you think they mean.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲:

"You're doing great work."
→ Nothing's changing this cycle. No raise. No promotion. Same seat.

"There's room for growth."
→ You're not getting promoted. Maybe not this year. Maybe not ever here.

"Let's revisit this next quarter."
→ I'm hoping you forget. And if you don't, I'll push it again.

"We value your contributions."
→ You're not a priority, but we don't want you to leave yet.

"You're a key part of the team."
→ Key enough to keep. Not key enough to invest in.

"Keep doing what you're doing."
→ I have no feedback for you because I haven't been paying attention.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗜 𝗦𝗲𝗲:

The executives who get blindsided by layoffs, passed over for promotions, or stuck in the same role for years?

They believed the words.

The ones who advance?

They read between the lines. They ask the uncomfortable follow-up: "What would need to change for me to be promoted in the next 12 months?"

If your manager can't answer that clearly, you have your answer.

Performance reviews don't tell you where you stand.

They tell you what the company wants you to believe.

What's the most misleading feedback you've ever received?

The questions that save CEOs from $500K mistakes

After 200+ placements, I've watched executives make the same costly errors.

Not because they lacked intelligence. Because they asked the wrong questions.

The CEOs who avoid expensive mistakes share a pattern. They slow down when everyone else speeds up.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗜'𝘃𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸:

𝗕𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴:
"What will this person need to succeed that we're not currently providing?"

Most CEOs ask if the candidate can do the job. The best ones ask if they can support them once they're in it.

𝗕𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴:
"Who will I lose that I can't afford to lose?"

Reorgs look clean on paper. The collateral damage shows up six months later.

𝗕𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗲𝘀:
"What am I not seeing because I want this to work?"

The deals that blow up always had warning signs. Someone just chose not to look.

𝗕𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴:
"Am I handing off responsibility or just accountability?"

One creates leaders. The other creates scapegoats.

𝗕𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴:
"What question am I hoping no one asks?"

That's the one you need to answer first.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗜 𝗦𝗲𝗲:

The $500K mistakes rarely come from bad decisions.

They come from good decisions made without the right questions.

The executives who avoid them aren't smarter. They're more willing to slow down when the pressure says speed up.

What question do you wish you'd asked before a costly mistake?

Change Leadership, General Manager PFA @ Batgroup & Member of the Board @ Putzfrauenagentur

Leadership is not about volume.
It is about clarity, alignment and steady execution when the pressure is on.

I work with customer-facing and regulated organisations across MENA and Asia to strengthen leadership capability where strategy meets delivery.

In hospitality, banking, retail and other service-driven environments, performance rarely fails because of effort. It fails when:

• Leaders are promoted without structured support
• Executive teams are misaligned on priorities
• Expectations are implied rather than defined
• Accountability drifts under pressure

My work focuses on alignment first.

I facilitate Leadership & Performance Alignment Sessions that help senior and mid-level leaders:

• Clarify must-win priorities
• Align leadership behaviours to business goals
• Identify capability gaps
• Define a focused 90-day execution plan

From there, we implement through structured leadership capability projects, including:

• Development journeys for emerging and mid-level managers
• Team coaching during change and transformation cycles
• Targeted 1:1 leadership coaching for high-potential and critical role holders

Across 25+ years with Apple Retail, Swissôtel, The St. Regis and multi-site service organisations in the Middle East, Asia and Europe, I have seen the same pattern:

When leadership alignment improves, engagement rises, execution stabilises and commercial performance follows.

I have led brand integrations and organisational transitions while maintaining performance and cultural stability.

If you are strengthening your leadership pipeline or want greater alignment between strategy and day-to-day delivery, I am happy to explore how we can work together.

📞 Book a call: https://cal.com/jeffross

Jeff Ross

Ramadan Mubarak to everyone observing across the UAE, GCC, and beyond.

This is a month that asks something of us beyond the professional.

Reflection. Discipline. Compassion.

In my years working across this region, Ramadan has consistently reminded me that the best leaders I know carry those qualities not just in this month, but as a way of operating all year.

To my colleagues, clients, and connections marking this time, I hope it brings you peace, renewal, and meaningful moments with those who matter.

Ramadan Kareem.

Leadership Capability Partner for High-Pressure, Customer-Facing Organisations | Alignment Sessions, Leadership Development & Coaching | MENA & Asia

93% of managers in the UAE consider themselves a good manager.

Around half of their employees disagree.

In Gallup’s UAE workplace research, that gap is not about character but about calibration.

Most managers do not see what their team is actually carrying, because the signals arrive late.

By the time burnout is visible, the conditions that caused it have been in place for months

Unclear decision rights.
Responsibility without the authority to act.
Every priority treated as the top priority.

In large service organisations - retail, hospitality, leisure - managers absorb pressure from above so the operation keeps moving.

They keep the shift running.
They hit targets.
They protect the guest or customer experience.

Until they cannot.

Gallup’s UAE data shows that disengaged employees report burnout at nearly twice the rate of engaged ones.

This is not primarily a workload story.
This is an engagement story.

Which means it sits with how managers are set up to lead.

Most organisations in this region can tell you their sales figures or occupancy rates.
Fewer can tell you how their managers are actually doing.

If burnout is appearing in your organisation, do not start with resilience training.

Start with how clearly your managers know:
– What they are accountable for
– What they can decide
– What is truly a priority

What is one pressure your managers are absorbing right now that the system should be carrying instead?

Someone on your operations team has done the work you're hiring for.

They led system integration during the acquisition. They managed the brand transition. They consolidated operations across locations.

But when you post "PMI Lead" or "Integration Manager," they don't apply.

They assume it's different work.
You hire externally.
They get quietly frustrated.

This is not a capability gap you are having.
It is a translation problem.

I was at a networking event for M&A professionals last month. The room was full of consultants and advisors casually discussing deals "we don't touch 

Open article: The terminology gap that's costing you internal talent by Jeff Ross • 5 min read

The terminology gap that's costing you internal talent

taplio

The Battle

Craig Leach

Jeff Ross

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreCraig Leach's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreJeff Ross's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Craig Leach

Jeff Ross

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Craig Leach's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreJeff Ross's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreCraig Leach's LinkedIn Performance