MODERN PLAYBOOK FOR THE
Melissa Dawn Simkins is Reinventing
Leadership for the Future
Many people believe launching a business is risky. But for Melissa Dawn Simkins, the bigger risk wasn’t starting—it was trusting her vision before the world could see it.
In the early days of Velvet Suite, a leadership innovation firm, Melissa and her executive assistant would sit in her living room and declare, “We are going global, right after we go local.” The reality, however, was far less glamorous.
“There were nights when I wasn’t sure how I was going to make payroll,” she recalls. “I’d sit at my desk, staring at my laptop, feeling the weight of it all. But then I’d remember our mantra, and that was enough to push me forward one more day.”
Nearly 19 years later, that vision has become a reality. Velvet Suite has pioneered leadership transformation for Fortune 500 companies and global icons through purpose-powered leadership development reaching over 100,000 people across 26 countries. The She-Suite Summit, a Velvet Suite platform focused on bridging the gender gap at work, is celebrating a decade of global impact.
Yet, Melissa’s mission remains clear: Reinvent leadership for a world in constant change. As the Founder of the Modern Playbook for the New Era of Leadership, she’s proving that high performance doesn’t have to mean burnout. Instead, agility, purpose, and execution in work and well-being are the new leadership advantage.
Melissa didn’t start as an entrepreneur. She built her career at some of the world’s most recognized companies, including Nationwide, Procter & Gamble, and Victoria’s Secret.
“It was in those years that I learned how leaders are developed inside corporations,” she reflects. “But it was through entrepreneurship that I learned vision is the key to survival.”
She took a leap of faith, walking away from her corporate job just three months before being vested. “Something told me: Now or never.” Her bet paid off.
Velvet Suite became an industry first, building leadership systems that merged personal brand strategy with high-performance leadership.
- Velvet Suite launched the NFL Player Brand University, the first-ever personal brand platform for professional athletes, bridging leadership from the field to the boardroom.
- The NFL platform would evolve into The Brand Leadership Institute ® accelerating its expansion during COVID, providing online learning and virtual leadership development to meet the urgent needs of a remote workforce.
- Velvet Suite launched The She-Suite platform, which emerged as a response to Me Too, equipping organizations to close the gender gap in leadership.
Melissa and Velvet Suite didn’t just navigate change—they anticipated it, shaped it, and built leadership solutions in real time.
When COVID-19 was named a global pandemic on Wednesday, March 11, 2020, The She-Suite Summit was scheduled to host our 5th annual in-person conference on Friday, March 13th. What had been meticulously planned for months was suddenly impossible to execute in person.
“We had two options: cancel or adapt. We chose agility.”
Melissa and her team locked themselves in a hotel for 36 hours, working around the clock to redesign the entire event into a virtual experience—one of the first of its kind during the global pandemic.
“There was no roadmap for this. No playbook. But we knew leaders needed us now more than ever,” she recalls. “So we built the solution in real-time.”
In less than 48 hours, The She-Suite Summit:
- Pivoted to a fully virtual platform ahead of most corporate events.
- Expanded its reach, attracting leaders globally who could now join remotely.
- Became a model for how organizations could stay agile during uncertainty.
That moment proved one of Melissa’s core beliefs:
“Agility isn’t just about responding to change—it’s about anticipating it, shaping it, and thriving within it.”
“Your ability to change is directly tied to your ability to remain relevant,” Melissa explains. “The world is in constant motion. The question is: Can you find purpose in the pivot?”
This belief reinforced her athletic roots, which are called the M.V.P. Framework (Mission, Vision, Purpose). The foundation of purpose-powered agility is a new and essential skill.
The results?
- Greater engagement, productivity, and retention.
- Leaders who don’t just adapt—they lead through change.
- Companies that scale, not struggle, in disruption.
Melissa sees agility as the new currency of leadership—the difference between those who survive and those who thrive.
For years, Melissa carried a silent burden. She lived in chronic pain, battling endometriosis and adenomyosis, yet pushing forward in moments such as hosting The She-Suite Summits, delivering a keynote at Walmart headquarters or even hosting SHRM Conferences, filming media interviews, and leading high-stakes advisory with top executives.
She would smile through the pain, show up at her highest level, and then retreat to survive another day. “I thought this was just my reality—I didn’t realize how much I was sacrificing.”
But after surgery, Melissa reclaimed her health, found accountability in her coach, Ryall Graber and began a new journey- not just as a leader, but as a human.
- She lost over 50 pounds in two years – but most importantly gained health and healing mentally, emotionally, relationally and spiritually.
- She rediscovered her inner athlete – falling back in love with her body’s strength.
- She learned that true leadership isn’t just about performance—it’s about sustainability.
“The first time I ran a mile after my surgery, I cried. Not because it was hard, but because I finally felt free–free from pain, free from just surviving. I had spent years pushing through, but for the first time, I was really living.”
Now, she’s bringing this insight into her leadership philosophy and global curriculum, helping executives and organizations understand that high performance should never come at the cost of well-being.
“We must empower leaders not just to succeed—but to sustain success. To thrive, not just survive.”
As The She-Suite Summit marks its 10th anniversary, Melissa is looking ahead—not just at what’s next for her, but at what’s next for leadership itself.
“We’ve spent the last decade proving that leadership agility is a skill—one that can be developed, practiced, and mastered.”
Now, Velvet Suite is scaling life-changing leadership experiences through enterprise ed-tech solutions that are merging data, content, and technology to empower organizations to build leaders who last.
Her next focus?
- Expanding the M.V.P. framework globally.
- Developing Content as a Service (CaaS) platform at scale through AI-driven learning.
- Shaping the future of leadership for the next generation.
But for Melissa, this journey has never been just about personal success. It has always been about something bigger—a movement, a shift, a new dawn in leadership.
“This isn’t just about me. It’s about using my life and my light to help others step into their own. To show that leadership isn’t just about power—it’s about purpose. It’s about creating a way to lead and live that is not only successful but sustainable.”
She believes that leadership should ignite possibility, not just for those at the top but for anyone willing to step up, stand out, and step forward with purpose.
“The world is evolving, and leadership must evolve with it. My mission is to help leaders see that agility isn’t just a skill—it’s a way of being. And when we embrace that, we don’t just navigate change; we shape the future.”
This is the dawn of something new.
A new way to lead.
A new way to live.
A new way to win—from within.
And Melissa Dawn Simkins is just getting started.
