Melanie Vargas draws from 30 years of C-level experience in human resources and organizational development, executive coaching, and consulting. Her leadership has been shaped not only by this experience, but also by a deep personal understanding of adversity. She leverages this lens to help leaders confront hard questions, challenge the systems in which they operate, and rewrite self-limiting beliefs that no longer serve them, either personally or organizationally.
She has worked in venture-backed, private equity-backed, for-profit, nonprofit, and global NGO organizations. Melanie partners with CEOs, CFOs, Boards, and executive teams to scale organizations, strengthen leadership capability, design operating models, and build cultures that drive business success.
Alongside her operating roles, Melanie is Founder & CEO of Radical Ignition, an executive coaching and leadership development practice. Coaching is one of the strategic tools she brings to her consulting work, enabling her to accelerate executive effectiveness, support succession, and drive meaningful behavior change at scale.
She is coaching leaders from brands such as Fresenius Medical Care, CVS Health, Microsoft, Johnson & Johnson, Accenture, ServiceNow, Cedar, and Airtable.
Most recently, Melanie was Chief People Officer at HaptX, Inc. and President and Managing Director of Swift HR Solutions. Melanie is an Executive Coach for the Hudson Institute of Santa Barbara and coaches students going through training. She also the President of Hudson Seattle Coach Community.
Melanie has been an example to me of the transformative power of coaching. After working together, several things have changed in me: I went from having mental fog to having clarity about what I want to achieve. I went from being afraid of not having the knowledge or tools for what I want to accomplish to feeling confident I can learn it. I went from being overwhelmed by my saboteurs to recognizing them and building a toolkit. Melanie, thank you for being the best coach I could have asked for. Your guidance has made all the difference in taking Blum to the next level.
𝐍𝐢𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐏𝐞́𝐫𝐞𝐳 | Founder & CEO, Blum
Industry / Leadership Experience:
- Over three decades of organizational development, HR, and entrepreneurial experience within venture-backed and private equity-backed organizations
- Industry experience across multitude of sectors including NGO/non-profit, technology/SAAS (Software/Hardware, HealthtTech, fintech, gaming, AI, AR/VR), healthcare, and professional services
- Coached hundreds of leaders, from early-stage startups to Fortune 50 companies
- Board-level leadership experience and trusted advisor to executives and founders navigating high-stakes decisions
- Led organizations through significant change and transition, including reorganizations, layoffs, mergers, and liquidity events
- C-level executive background shaped by scaling companies and developing leaders from the ground up while navigating uncertainty and complexity
- Brings a rare blend of strategic insight, operational rigor, and deep empathy to the work of transformation and culture building
Credentials & Education:
- Business, University of Houston
- Certified executive coach, Hudson Institute of Coaching
- PCC-credentialed coach, International Coaching Federation (ICF)
- Team Coaching Accreditation (ITCA), European Mentoring and Coaching Council
- Global Coach Practitioner Accreditation (EIA), European Mentoring and Coaching Council
- CCMI-certified Team Coach
- Credentials in Human Resources: SHRM-SCP and SPHR
- 2,500+ hours of executive coaching
- Dozens of certifications in diagnostic tools including Thomas TEIQue®, DISC®, Leadership Circle Profile™ (360) & Collective Leadership Assessment, Dare to Lead® trained, and DEIB certified from Cornell.
Industry / Leadership Experience:
- Over three decades of organizational development, HR, and entrepreneurial experience within venture-backed and private equity-backed organizations
- Industry experience across multitude of sectors including NGO/non-profit, technology/SAAS (Software/Hardware, HealthtTech, fintech, gaming, AI, AR/VR), healthcare, and professional services
- Coached hundreds of leaders, from early-stage startups to Fortune 50 companies
- Board-level leadership experience and trusted advisor to executives and founders navigating high-stakes decisions
- Led organizations through significant change and transition, including reorganizations, layoffs, mergers, and liquidity events
- C-level executive background shaped by scaling companies and developing leaders from the ground up while navigating uncertainty and complexity
- Brings a rare blend of strategic insight, operational rigor, and deep empathy to the work of transformation and culture building
In her personal time, Melanie is committed to her amazing family, her husband, three kids, and pet mom to two dogs.
