Knight Campbell - Founder and CEO at Cairn Leadership Strategies

Knight Campbell turns mountains into meeting rooms. A former Navy helicopter pilot and Naval Academy leadership instructor, he now takes executive teams off-grid—rock climbing, rafting, and trekking—to work on the real “crux” of how they lead. Phones go away. Titles fade. Trust and honest talk show up. In his conversation with Ryan, Knight recalls a Joshua Tree client who lost service and then chose to keep her phone off until Monday, proving that awe and accountability open conversations no boardroom can. He shares a core lesson from the alpine: sometimes speed is safety, but great leaders fight the real enemy—hurry—by practicing presence.