Craig Leach, MBA

Global Recruiters of The High Plains (GRN)

At GRN High Plains, we are dedicated to helping companies make informed decisions. We leverage our expertise in human behavior to help CEOs and investors cultivate valuable businesses. Our vision is to be the go-to resource for businesses seeking to enhance their decision-making processes through a deep understanding of human behavior. We believe in the power of teamwork and value talent development as essential to our success. With honesty, positivity, and sincere commitment to leadership, coaching, mentoring, and friendship, we explore new frontiers, cultivate curiosity, and embrace the art of talent acquisition. At GRN High Plains, we are dedicated to helping our clients succeed.

President & CEO

Irsik & Doll Feed Services, Inc.

General Manager

Friona Industries LP

Chief Operating Officer

Hi Plains Feed LLC

High Plains Commodities

President/Owner

Garvey Processing

Business Develpment Manager

Kent Feeds, Inc.

District Sales Manager

Archer Daniels Midland Company

Regional Sales Manager

Welcome to where transforming companies and careers with precision-tailored executive placements and progressive leadership coaching meets personalized solutions that align with your unique culture and strategic goals. If you're here, you're likely seeking to attract and retain top-tier talent in a competitive market, align leadership teams with corporate strategy and culture, navigate leadership transitions without disrupting operations, and ensure new hires are the right fit for long-term success.

With over 30 years of experience in leading teams, I guide executives from uncertainty and misalignment to building high-performing teams that drive results. Is reducing time spent on recruiting or mis-recruiting on your radar? Do you aspire to increase productivity and performance? If these aspirations resonate, you've found your path.

I blend my diverse skills in negotiation, business planning, operations management, sales, market development, and leadersip with my passion for talent development, crafting strategic solutions that truly represent your organization's needs. This strategy allows you to transform your leadership capital and achieve sustainable success.

My 21st Century technology-influenced approach uses personalized executive search and coaching to create long-term impact that delivers reduced commercial downtime, improved employee retention rates, and reduced overall costs to hire. I empower hiring managers to make confident decisions, so 96% of our placements are still in place after 12 months.

What you can expect:
• Minimized client commercial downtime
• Improved new employee retention rates
• Reduced overall costs to hire

Your outcomes:
• 96% of placements still in place after 12 months
• 94% of placements still in place after 24 months

Embrace a journey that transforms your organization through strategic leadership development and succession planning. Ready to start?

I offer different ways to work with me to suit your budget and needs:
• Retained Search: Exclusive tailored executive search and coaching solutions, best suited for senior leadership positions (C-Suite, VPs, Directors)
• Contingency Search: Exclusive search for technical, sales, and marketing roles
• Executive Coaching: Tailored, one-on-one partnerships to empower leaders and high-potential professionals to maximize performance and achieve personal and organizational goals

Who it's for:
• C-suite executives
• Senior managers
• Emerging leaders
• Professionals transitioning to higher leadership roles

Begin your journey: https://calendly.com/6202205911/30min

President

I Placed the Same Executive Three Times (Here's What His Ex-Bosses Never Understood)

Same guy. Three different companies. Three promotions after I placed him.

His ex-bosses? They all called me asking if I could find them "another Mike."

I couldn't help but laugh.

They had Mike. They lost Mike. And they still didn't understand why.

First placement: VP Operations at a logistics company. Mike turned their worst-performing region into their best in 18 months. Then his boss took credit for the turnaround at the board meeting. Mike called me that night.

Second placement: COO at a manufacturing firm. Mike reduced costs by 31% without cutting a single job. Found inefficiencies everyone else missed. Then they promoted someone's golf buddy over him. Mike called me that afternoon.

Third placement: President of a PE-backed distribution company. The CEO told me during reference checks: "I don't care about his resume. Tell me why he left his last two roles."

So I told him.

That CEO did something Mike's previous bosses never did:

He asked Mike what he needed to succeed.
Then actually delivered it.

Not promised it. Delivered it.

Mike wanted:
• Authority to match his responsibility
• Credit to flow where credit was due
• A boss who'd have his back when things got tough

Revolutionary concepts, apparently.

Two years later, Mike's still there. They've doubled revenue. The PE firm made him CEO last month.

His two previous bosses? Both called me this year.

"We need someone like Mike."
"What made Mike special?"
"Can you find us another Mike?"

I tell them the same thing:

You don't need another Mike. You need to become the leader Mike would stay for.

The brutal truth about executive retention:

Great executives don't leave companies. They leave bosses who take credit, make promises they don't keep, and treat talent like it's replaceable.

Mike wasn't exceptional because of his skills. Every executive at his level has skills.

He was exceptional because he'd learned what most executives learn too late:

When someone shows you who they are as a boss, believe them.

The fastest way to lose your best executive? Make them feel like they're just another employee.

The fastest way to keep them? Remember they have my number in their phone.

And they're one broken promise away from using it.

What's the real reason your best executive left?

I Work with Senior Leaders to Build Teams that Shape the Future | Executive Search | C-Suite | Top Voice 2024

The Reference Who Begged Me Not to Place Their Former Employee

"Please. Don't send him to our competitor."

First time in 200+ placements someone asked me to sabotage a candidate's job search.

I was doing reference checks for a VP Sales candidate. Strong track record. Multiple successful exits. The board was ready to make an offer.

Called his previous CEO for a reference.

"Craig, I'll give you a glowing reference. But I need a favor."

"What kind of favor?"

"Don't place him at "ABC". They're our biggest competitor."

I waited for him to laugh. He didn't.

"You're serious."

"Dead serious. If he goes there with what he knows, we're finished."

Most executives treat departing talent like yesterday's news. Delete their access. Ship their belongings. Move on.

This CEO understood something different.

His former VP wasn't just leaving. He was taking a $50M competitive advantage with him.

The playbook he built.
The client relationships he nurtured.
The team culture he created.
The strategic roadmap he designed.

All walking out the door for a 40% salary bump.

"Why didn't you match their offer?" I asked.

"Board said we couldn't justify it. Now they're asking me to hire three people to replace him."

The math never works that way.

You don't replace one A-player with three B-players.
You replace them with your competitor's new weapon.

Six months later, "ABC" had captured 30% of his former company's enterprise accounts.

The CEO who begged me not to place him? He's now looking for a new job himself.

Board fired him for losing market share.

Here's what 200+ placements taught me about talent:

The cost of losing your best people isn't in the replacement search.

It's in watching them build your competitor's empire with your blueprints.

Companies will spend $2M on a non-compete lawsuit but won't spend $200K to keep the person worth suing over.

Your top performer isn't just an employee.
They're your competitive moat.

And moats don't come with a replacement guarantee.

What's the real cost of the last A-player you lost to a competitor?

The Executive Who Failed Every Leadership Test (And Why I Placed Him Anyway)

Last Tuesday, I presented a candidate who bombed his interview.

Forgot the CFO's name. Mixed up the revenue numbers. Stumbled through the strategy questions.

The board was ready to pass. Then I asked them to wait 24 hours.

Here's what they didn't see:

He drove 6 hours after his father's funeral. His assistant had quit that morning. His biggest client was threatening to walk.

And he still showed up.

Most executives would have rescheduled. Blamed circumstances. Made excuses.

He didn't mention any of it. Not once.

I only knew because his reference called me. "Did he tell you what week he's having?"

The Executives Who Fail:

• Perfect interviews, perfect answers, perfect image
• Never let you see them sweat
• Treat vulnerability like weakness
• Hide every crack in the armor

The Executives Who Last:

• Show up when life falls apart
• Let their humanity show through
• Know perfection is a performance
• Build trust through transparency

That "failed" interview revealed more leadership than any polished presentation.

Real leaders don't wait for perfect conditions. They lead through chaos.

18 months later, he's transformed their company. Turned around three underperforming divisions. Built the strongest leadership team they've had in a decade.

The board member who wanted to pass? He told me last week: "Thank God you made us wait."

Here's what 200+ placements taught me:

The executives worth $3.2M aren't the ones who never stumble.

They're the ones who stumble and keep walking.

When's the last time you hired someone despite their worst day?

The $2M Mistake: When 'Industry Experience' Becomes Your Hiring Blind Spot

I just watched a board reject the perfect CEO candidate.

Their reason? "He's never worked in an ag business."

Six months later, they're filing for bankruptcy. The "industry expert" they hired instead? He knew everything about procurement and nothing about saving a dying company.

Here's what 200+ executive placements has taught me:

Industry experience is the most overrated hiring criterion in business.

I've tracked the data (based on my placements). Executives from outside the industry outperform "experts" 3 to 1 when companies need transformation.

Why? Because industry veterans see what's always been there. Outsiders see what could be.

The Failed "Industry Expert" Hires:

• Recycled the same strategies that worked in 1995
• Built networks of other industry dinosaurs
• Defended the status quo as "how things are done"
• Couldn't imagine a different way

The Successful Cross-Industry Leaders:

• Asked "why" instead of accepting "because"
• Brought fresh frameworks from other sectors
• Challenged sacred cows without fear
• Saw opportunities where others saw tradition

Industry experience becomes a crutch when you need a catalyst.

Your challenged company doesn't need someone who knows your industry's past. It needs someone who can see its future.

The $2M mistake isn't hiring outside your industry. It's believing that knowing how things have always been done means knowing how they should be done.

What's the best "outsider" hire you've ever made?

After 200+ placements, I ask references one question that makes them pause.

"Would you hire them again?"

Silence. Every time.

Not because the answer is no. But because they're really thinking about it for the first time.

Last week, I called three references for a CEO candidate. Stellar resume. Board loved him. Every reference gave glowing reviews. 

"Strategic thinker."
"Results-driven."
"Transformational leader."

Then I asked my question.

Reference #1: "Well... I mean... probably?"
Reference #2: Long pause. "That's complicated."
Reference #3: "Can I call you back?"

He didn't get the job.

Here's what that pause tells me:

They're remembering the 2 AM emails. The revolving door of talent. The Sunday "emergencies" that weren't. The brilliant strategies that left bodies in their wake.

Great executives get instant "absolutely" responses.

Not "he hit his numbers."
Not "she delivered the transformation."

Just "Yes. Tomorrow if I could."

I've tracked this. Executives who get immediate "yes" responses stay 3x longer. Their teams outperform by 47%. They build companies people actually want to work for.

The ones who cause the pause? They're resume builders. They deliver results at any cost. Usually that cost is people.

Your references aren't just confirming your employment. They're revealing your leadership.

The pause tells me more than any achievement ever could.

What would your last boss say if I asked them right now?

The CFO Who Cried During Our Interview (And Why That's Why She Got Hired)

She lost it right there in the boardroom.

Full breakdown. Tissues everywhere.

The other board members were uncomfortable. One started reaching for his phone to "check the time."

I leaned in.

"Tell me more about that."

She'd been describing her biggest failure. A $12M acquisition that tanked. 200 people lost their jobs. Her first time leading due diligence.

"I signed off on projections I knew were aggressive. I wanted to prove I could close deals like the guys. Those families trusted us."

Most CFO candidates give me polished failure stories.

"We learned valuable lessons."
"It was a growth opportunity."
"The market shifted unexpectedly."

She gave me the truth. Raw. Uncomfortable. Real.

The board wanted someone bulletproof. I believed that I saw someone who'd never make that mistake again.

CFOs Who Flame Out:

• Never admit real fault
• Hide behind market conditions
• Treat losses like line items
• Protect their image above all

CFOs Who Build Dynasties:

• Own their catastrophes completely
• Feel the weight of their decisions
• Remember the human cost
• Let their scars show

That breakdown told me everything.

She didn't just understand financial risk. She understood human cost.

Three years later:

She's caught four deals that would have buried the company. Saved 400 jobs by restructuring debt instead of cutting heads. Built the strongest finance team they've had in two decades.

The board member who reached for his phone? Told me last month: "Best hire we ever made. She sees around corners we didn't know existed."

Here's what 200+ placements taught me about tears in interviews:

The ones who never crack under pressure? They're usually the ones who crack when it counts.

The ones who crack in front of you? They've already been broken and rebuilt stronger.

Your next great executive isn't hiding their humanity.

They're leading with it.

When's the last time vulnerability in an interview changed your mind?

The Question That Reveals Everything About an Executive

I've placed over 200 executives. Want to know my favorite interview question?

"Tell me about a time you were wrong."

Ten seconds. That's all it takes.

The ones who fail? They dance. They dodge. They turn it into a win somehow. Last week a CFO candidate, Harvard MBA, references from everyone spent five minutes explaining how his mistake was really the market's fault.

Next.

The ones who succeed? Different story entirely.

"I lost us $3M chasing the wrong strategy." No excuses. Just facts. Then they walk me through exactly what they learned.

One candidate said it best: "I ignored my team's warnings and pushed ahead anyway. Cost us six months and our best engineer."

She's now running a $400M division.

Every executive makes mistakes. The difference is what happens next.

Bad leaders protect their ego.
Good leaders protect their results.

I've watched companies burn through C-suite talent because they hired people who couldn't admit fault. These executives create cultures where problems hide until they don't.

Leaders who own their failures have teams that will walk through walls for them. When the boss can be wrong, everyone can be honest.

Your track record matters less than your ability to learn from it.

What's the last decision you got completely wrong?

The Executive Who Knew Too Much About AI (And Still Failed)

Just spent 90 minutes with a brilliant IT executive. 25 years at some of the most recognizable companies. The kind of resume that makes boards drool.

He can't find the right PE role.

Not because he lacks experience. Because PE firms don't know what they're looking for.

"We want someone who understands AI."
"Great. What's your use case?"
"Well... we want to do AI."

I've heard this exact conversation 47 times this year.

Here's what this executive told me that stopped me cold:

"Every PE portfolio company wants AI yesterday. But they're asking Oracle and SAP to build it for them tomorrow."

He's right. And it's costing them millions.

The AI Reality Check PE Firms Need:

Companies That Will Win:
• Know AI comes through their vendors, not custom builds
• Create clear yes/no/maybe policies for AI tools
• Understand data security before implementation
• Accept they're not Google or Microsoft

Companies That Will Burn Cash:
• Hire 50 AI developers for their mid-market company
• Chase every shiny AI tool without strategy
• Let employees dump sensitive data into ChatGPT
• Think they'll build the next breakthrough

This executive spent his last role preparing his company for a $100M+ exit. Rolled up 11 companies in 3 years. Knows exactly how to scale chaos into order.

But PE firms keep asking for "AI experience" like it's 1995 and they need "internet experience."

The pattern killers understand: You don't need an AI expert. You need someone who's transformed companies before AI was a buzzword.

Here's the kicker—he told me something I've believed for years:

"For good talent, there's never a down market."

The market isn't horrible. It's normal. The problem is companies writing job descriptions for unicorns while thoroughbreds are grazing in their backyard.

This executive will land somewhere brilliant. The PE firm that gets him will wonder how their competitors missed him.

The answer? They were too busy looking for yesterday's buzzwords to see tomorrow's transformation.

What's the most ridiculous "must-have" requirement you've seen in a job description?

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