Invisible CEOs Lose Millions in Deals and Talent | Katie Radel | EP.25

Katie Radel grew up above a funeral home. Third generation family business. I love stories like that because it explains a lot about why she never questioned whether entrepreneurship was even on the table for her. She spent the next several years in the corporate world (banking, healthcare, finance) before she got close to 40, had just had her son, and realized the version of herself showing up to that job every day wasn't the healthiest one. Six months before the pandemic hit, she quit and started Ripple Consulting Group.

I brought Katie on because I wanted to argue this out loud, the whole earned, owned, and paid media thing. She lives in earned media (PR, pitching journalists, getting executives quoted). I live in owned media (building the content and community side). Neither of us thinks the other one wins by itself. Where we landed by the end of this conversation is way more interesting than the debate, honestly. There's an actual number on what it costs a company when its executives stay invisible, and AI just made earned media matter more, not less.

What you'll learn

Why 84% of AI citations trace back to earned media, and why that means PR isn't optional anymore if you care how AI talks about you

The stat Katie leads with in every pitch meeting: visible executives carry an 80% higher average share price than the ones who stay invisible

How to tell if a founder saying "I don't have time for this" actually means that, or means they don't want to be the one taking the risk

The one question I stole from Katie that gets someone to their actual zone of genius, because asking "what's your expertise" gets you nothing useful

The most overrated PR tactic there is: sending a press release out on the wire with zero strategy behind it

The one line to fix on your LinkedIn headline today (hint: it's not your job title)

Why even the executives with the most credentials still deal with imposter syndrome, and how Katie gets them talking before she ever shows them a talking point

Why video is winning right now. In a feed full of AI slop, showing up live and unscripted is the one thing that's hard to fake

Why reframing "personal brand" as "service media" turns the fear of self promotion into the reason you actually post