About Michael

Michael Urtuzuástegui Melcher is an internationally known executive coach and leadership expert. Over the past 20 years, he has helped senior executives, entrepreneurs, attorneys, investment bankers, White House appointees, tech wizards, healthcare leaders, community activists, board chairs, parents returning to the workforce, and young people just starting out. He has delivered hundreds of keynotes and workshops, including at Camp David, Google, and leading universities around the United States, and in a dozen countries on five continents.

Michael spent more than 15 years as a partner with Next Step Partners, LLC, where he was instrumental in creating innovative, multidimensional leadership programs, building and supporting a diverse cadre of coaches, and expanding business across the United States and overseas. He is the author of three books, including Your Invisible Network: How to Create, Maintain, and Leverage the Relationships That Will Transform Your Career (BenBella, 2023), and The Creative Lawyer: A Practical Guide to Authentic Professional Satisfaction (ABA Books, 2nd Edition 2014). Prior to entering coaching, he served as a foreign service officer in the U.S. State Department, worked as a lawyer with Davis Polk & Wardwell, and founded an internet startup.

Michael attended public schools before earning a BA from Harvard and a JD/MBA from Stanford. He was raised by a Mexican American single mother who was the first Hispanic woman in America to earn a doctorate in accounting. He is a gay dad and lives in Manhattan with his twin sons, Nicolás and Mateo.

Michael Melcher
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