Being an ALPS Leadership Cohort Chair and leading a group of accomplished leaders is a function of achieving mastery in numerous competencies.

It is an art that requires both rigorous training and years of practice to become competent in. Our cohort of Chairs each bring a minimum of 10 years experience and thousands of hours of working in the trenches with CEOs and other business leaders.

Our Chairs are proven virtuosos as  facilitators, mentors and coaches with domain expertise in business and leadership skills. They are lifelong learners who are tested experts in strategic thinking, leadership development, organizational performance and human potential. Their role is to use their leadership competence to draw out the value of the diversity in our cohorts while guiding the performance of the group to ensure safety and high value for all members.

Philip R. Liebman, MLAS
Philip R. Liebman, MLASLeadership Cohort Chairman
• Chairman – Peer Boards of Advisers Since 2005 – Multiple Recognition Awards
• Master of Leadership Arts and Sciences / Fellow at Thayer Institute
• CEO/Founder of ALPS Leadership
• Author of more than 100 Articles on Business Leadership
• Author of “Cultivating MoJo – How Competent Leaders Inspire Exceptional Performance”- (Due to be published in 2024)

Phil earned his MLAS (Master of Leadership Arts and Sciences) at the Thayer Institute and is currently the CEO and Founder at ALPS Leadership – a leadership development, coaching and training company. Phil is a recognized international speaker, author and thought leader on organizational leadership.

He was formerly CEO and Chief Creative Officer for M-Direct Advertising (formerly Mailographic Company – founded in 1919) in New York City, where for 20 years he was involved in marketing, advertising, direct mail and creative services. He was instrumental in the funding and launch of several equity backed start-ups in Natural Foods, Distant Learning, Youth Electronics, Internet Services and Wireless Communications – as well as a key strategic advisor to several other investor-backed start-ups.

Rief Kanan, MS , CPA
Rief Kanan, MS , CPALeadership Cohort Chairman
• Chairman – Peer Boards of Advisers Since 1997
• 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 / CIMA)
• Master Analyst of Financial Forensics (NACVA)
• Professor/Lecturer ( Retired) – School of Business, SUNY New Paltz

Rief is 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 since 2000.

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.