S02 E07: Chad Wiegand, Executive Vice President & CRO of Schreiber Foods

Meet Chad Wiegand

Chad Wiegand didn’t follow a corporate blueprint. He built a leadership model designed for complexity. From pharmacy school to law, from boardroom legal counsel to global strategy, Chad built his career by stepping into uncertainty—and bringing clarity. Today, he’s EVP and Chief Risk Officer at Schreiber Foods, an $8 billion, employee-owned food giant. He oversees everything from legal and audit to food safety, regulatory, compliance, and culture. But Chad will tell you: his impact isn’t about saying no. It’s about helping leaders make better decisions in the gray.

In this episode of Real Leadership, Chad shares the pivotal moments that shaped his philosophy—from learning how to lead through risk to discovering why vulnerability might be a leader’s sharpest edge.

In this episode, we cover:

• The “Red Team / Green Team” structure that takes ego out of strategy
• The surprising KPI that actually matters for legal leaders
• How vulnerability can build more trust than confidence ever could
• Why in-house legal teams must stop being seen as a cost centerWhat it really looks like to lead through chaos—with clarity

Subscribe to Real Leadership on YouTube to keep up with the new episodes

Interested in being in Real Leadership? Join the conversation

Follow Real Leadership on LinkedIn

Listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify

Follow Real Leadership on Instagram