Our Coaching Principals are Philip Liebman and Rief Kanan, who have worked together as Leadership Cohort Leaders since 2007. Because we offer our services virtually, we serve leaders virtually anywhere in the world.

We also have a global team of highly qualified associates who are equally experienced and credentialed, located throughout North America and Europe who can provide on-site coaching and facilitation as needed.

Meet Our Coaches

Phil Liebman, MLAS

Founder and CEO at ALPS Leadership Inc.

Phil is a Fellow at the Thayer Institute for Performance Virtuosity, a successful serial entrepreneur, author, and professional speaker, and has coached and mentored successful CEOs and business leaders and facilitated Peer Groups for CEOs and Senior Executives since 2004. He has logged more than 11,000 hours coaching CEOs and senior executives.

Phil is a recognized thought leader in developing individual and organizational performance through the pursuit of competence: the drive for meaningful accomplishment.  His passion for eliminating the startling and increasing levels of incompetence and dysfunction in the world and for elevating human potential and spirit has had Phil invited to speak throughout North America and Europe. His message and methods revolve around the belief that real human joy is the result of purposeful accomplishment – and that we can transform competencies into real competence to create a highly functional and more joyful world.

SEE PHIL’S FULL BIO

Rief Kanan, MS, CPA

Executive Cohort Leader and Master Leadership Coach

Rief is a distinguished professor emeritus at the School of Business at SUNY New Paltz, where, among other things, he taught advanced accounting courses to CPA candidates, including forensics, auditing, and business ethics. He has also served as Director at the Business Institute at the School of Business from 2000 through 2022. Rief has been coaching CEOs and senior executives for more than 25 years.

From 1983 through 1997, Rief was the owner and served as President and CEO of Kanan’s Plaza in Middletown, NY, a retailer of electronics, home appliances, and electronics, and several other retail businesses, as well as being an experienced real-estate developer.

His professional accomplishments include:

  • Director, The Business Institute
  • Sam Walton Free Enterprise Fellow
  • Dr. Emanuel Saxe Outstanding CPA in Education – 2014
  • Certified in Financial Forensics (AICPA)
  • Chartered Global Management Accountant (AICPA I CIMA)
  • Master Analyst of Financial Forensics (NACVA)
  • Professor/Lecturer – School of Business, SUNY New Paltz