Nicole Pavelka — Founder, Leadership by Design Academy™
Visionary Thinker. Brand Strategist. Leadership Designer.
Nicole Pavelka is a strategic thinker, leadership architect, and brand executive who has spent her career helping organizations and executives create clarity in moments of complexity. With expertise spanning brand strategy, design thinking, systems building, and executive development, she brings a uniquely multidisciplinary lens to the challenges leaders face today.
She currently serves as Vice President of Brand and Marketing at Apex.AI, where she leads global brand strategy for a Silicon Valley software company advancing autonomous and safety-critical systems across defense, mobility, and industrial markets. Her work shapes the company’s narrative and identity, translating it across cultures and markets so the organization shows up consistently and coherently on a global stage.
Before Apex.AI, Nicole spent nearly two decades with the BMW Group, across BMW, MINI, and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, Designworks, working on design strategy, and innovation programs. She has partnered with Fortune 500 companies to help teams navigate change, build creative confidence, and strengthen strategic decision-making.
As a Certified Professional Coach (iPEC) and Gallup-Certified StrengthsFinder Coach, Nicole has coached executives, founders, and emerging leaders on how to think strategically, expand their influence, and operate with clarity at scale. She is also the author of the bestselling book Supercharged: How I Transformed Exhaustion into Vitality.
Leadership by Design Academy™ is the culmination of her work, a structured learning system that develops the thinking skills, strategic frameworks, strengths awareness, and problem-solving capabilities required to lead innovation, shape culture, and drive meaningful progress in complex environments.
