When Kelsey Behringer stepped into the CEO role at Packback, it wasn’t the typical path to the top. She rose through customer success—not sales or finance—but quickly proved that deep team insight and executional trust can be a powerful foundation for transformative leadership.
In this conversation, Kelsey returns to unpack the story behind the leadership transition, the strategy that brought the board and team along, and the 18-month process that set the company up for a successful exit. She shares what it took to gain trust, how storytelling and data shaped Packback’s go-to-market, and why blending decisiveness with collaboration was key to making the transition work.
We also dive into what most leaders get wrong about change management, how to normalize a new era without shocking the system, and the surprising upside of treating an exit process like a crash course in business fundamentals.
If you’re a founder thinking about your next chapter—or a rising exec wondering how to level up—this is a case study in how it’s done.
Episode 29