Three decades. Thousands of leaders. One constant finding.

The Bio

Rick Ornelas is a nationally recognized Executive Business Strategist who works exclusively with CEOs and executive teams on the decisions that determine whether a company scales or stalls.

Over three decades, Rick has worked with organizations ranging from early-stage startups to Fortune 100 companies across industries. He has spent more than 10,000 hours studying leadership, human behavior, organizational strategy, and communication. That depth of study is not academic. The foundation of how he reads an organization and identifies where the real cost centers are hiding.

Most of the CEOs Rick works with are not struggling because of strategy. They are struggling because the people executing the strategy are not the right fit for the roles they are in. Rick helps executives close that gap with data, not instinct.

Rick uses behavioral data and AI as tools, not as substitutes. They surface patterns. They do not read people. After three decades of working with thousands of leaders, Rick recognizes what is about to break and helps CEOs make the human decision before the data has to.

His methodology, Assess, Translate, Mobilize, starts with a complete behavioral picture of the team. That data gets translated into specific decisions about people, roles, and organizational design. Then those decisions get put into motion with a clear execution plan.

The work spans organizational design, talent optimization, succession planning, and behavioral-based hiring. The output is measurable. Lower turnover. Stronger revenue. Faster execution. A leadership team built for what comes next.

Rick is a two-time bestselling author, a Vistage Trusted Advisor, and the founder of I Spark Change. He has been featured on FOX, ABC, NBC, CBS, and Reuters. He is based in Houston, TX.