Specialty: Career Advancement, Career Pivot, Entrepreneurship, Military and Veterans, Executive Presence
Industry: Technology; Banking; Consulting; Engineering; Energy; Luxury Hospitality; Real Estate; Media, and Entertainment, Sports; HR; Healthcare
Erika Medrado is a senior executive coach who primarily coaches Fortune 500 executives to become more impactful, decisive leaders and accelerate into more senior roles. Her clients range from mature global enterprises with well-defined market shares to high-growth start-up firms where fierce competition is a constant companion.
Clients draw on her 25+ years of cross-functional leadership across executive coaching, HR, operations, and marketing in multinational organizations. Erika has a deep expertise in global hospitality, luxury brands, and operational excellence. Erika’s corporate background includes 12 years as a Human Resources Executive at Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. In addition, she served as the Associate Director of Recruiting and Marketing at Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business in Houston.
Erika’s deep passion for coaching graduate business students and military officers transitioning to corporate roles led her to partner with multiple top-tier MBA schools and leadership institutes in the U.S. to elevate rising talent into world-class leaders. Drawing on her own international background, she is frequently requested to coach global expats and international students and equip them with the cross-cultural competence to rapidly adapt to the competitiveness, pace, and dynamism of American business culture.
Erika’s coaching philosophy is built on three core beliefs. First, Unlocking the Power Zone: Clients are the best experts on themselves; utilizing a rare talent for high-level listening and a killer instinct, Erika coaches them to amplify their greatest power zones and hidden strengths. Next, Winning in the Noise: In today’s hyper-competitive market, Erika helps leaders zero in to define and articulate their undeniable competitive advantage. And, finally, Coaching to Accelerate: When leaders pause to coach, reflect, and calibrate, they don’t lose speed – they gain it.
A dual citizen of the United States and Brazil, Erika coaches fluently in English and Portuguese and brings deep experience with global leaders, cross-cultural dynamics, and international markets. Erika is often described as a politically savvy and intuitive strategist, recognized for delivering high-precision feedback and diplomatic counsel that cuts through noise and drives results.
Erika holds a Master of Hospitality Management degree from the University of Houston’s Conrad N. Hilton College of Global Hospitality Leadership. She is a Board-Certified Executive Coach and holds multiple credentials. Erika is also a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) by the International Coaching Federation. Erika lives in Houston with her husband and two young adult children; outside of coaching, she treasures exploring the world through travel.
She is your coach if you are looking to receive honest, direct, and sharp feedback for continuous calibration; navigate career growth, industry pivots, or executive transitions; increase your clarity, agility, strength, and precision; elevate your executive presence and visibility to command any room you enter; strengthen your mental toughness and self-confidence; or advance into senior leadership, VP, and C-suite roles.