The Real CFO Podcast with Kip Knippel

From The KB Article by The Real CFO Project, Inc.

March 12, 2026 · 24 min

About this episode

Chad Brown interviews Kip Knippel about building elite leadership teams and attracting top-tier talent.

In this episode of The Real CFO Project , host Chad Brown sits down with executive recruiter and leadership advisor Kip Knippel to discuss what it really takes to build elite leadership teams and attract top-tier talent. As the founder of Kip Search, Kip works with companies across industries—from private businesses to venture-backed startups and private equity portfolio companies—helping them recruit high-level executives including CEOs, CFOs, and other C-suite leaders. Through thousands of conversations with leaders and organizations, he's developed a clear view of what separates average companies from those that consistently attract "A-players." In this conversation, Chad and Kip break down the realities of executive hiring and what business owners often get wrong when trying to level up their teams.

People in this episode

Host: Chad Brown

Guest: Kip Knippel

Topics covered

leadership
executive hiring
talent acquisition
C-suite recruitment
business strategy

Keywords

leadership teams
executive recruiter
CFO
CEO
A-players

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Kip Search, The Real CFO Project