Melissa Williams-Gurian

Location: United States

Melissa Williams-Gurian is a seasoned executive coach with over 25 years of experience guiding leaders to strengthen their emotional intelligence, leadership presence, and relationship-building skills. With a keen focus on helping technically skilled professionals transition into impactful management roles, she supports clients in increasing self-awareness, identifying behavioral patterns, and leading with authenticity. Her work emphasizes clear communication, decisive action, and creating inclusive, high-performing teams rooted in shared purpose and cultural alignment.

Melissa has coached CEOs and senior executives across diverse industries—technology, healthcare, retail, education, and finance—enabling them to scale leadership, navigate transitions, and build team cohesion. She is also the author of How Do You Want To Show Up: Find Your Inner Truths—And Lead With Them. Melissa holds a B.S. from Cornell University and an M.A. in Applied Behavioral Science, is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, and a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) with the ICF. She lives in Seattle with her family and is an avid marathon runner and hiker.

Notable Engagements

• CEO, Technology Software Company – Executive leadership & executive team alignment

• CEO, Technology Start-Up – Executive leadership & team development

• CEO, Construction Company – Strategic diversification & organizational accountability

• Chief Legal Officer, Technology – Scaling in role & team development

• CEO, Healthcare – Strategic acquisition & executive leadership

• Chief Administration Officer, Healthcare – Executive on-boarding

• SVP, Retail – Scaling in role & delegation

• EVP, Luxury Brand – Executive leadership & empowering team

• President & CEO, Consumer Goods – High-performing team & developing direct reports

• Chief Legal & Administrative Officer, Senior Living Industry – Executive leadership & influencing skills

• Chief Competition Officer, Trades Industry – Enhancing executive presence & leadership brand

• SVP, Digital Marketing, Retail – Enhancing influencing & colleague alignment

Client List

Melissa has worked with a wide range of organizations across technology, retail, healthcare, finance, and consumer goods. Her client list includes global and national leaders such as Microsoft, Expedia, Smartsheet, Morgan Stanley, Take-Two Interactive, Symetra, Getty Images, REI Co-op, Nordstrom, Avalara, Pfizer, PCC Community Markets, Oberto Brands, and Starbucks. She has also partnered with companies like Concur, Bungie, Impinj, Premera Blue Cross, Univar, Masco, Intellectual Ventures, Sur La Table, Point B, Weyerhaeuser, and Incyte Diagnostics. Additional clients include Community Health Plan of Washington, Quorum Review IRB, Cray, Harrison Hospital, Emeritus, Fisher Communications, Drugstore.com, Northwest Cascade, Milgard Manufacturing, Westin Hotels, Nokia, Community Transit, and T-Mobile.