At the intersection of technology, creativity, and strategy.

Hello, I'm Xavi.

My Professional Profile

I'm Xavier (Xavi) Vargas, a creative strategist with 20 years of experience helping organizations navigate complex technology and business transformations. I specialize in making the complicated simple—whether aligning executives around a shared vision or crafting intuitive experiences that deliver real impact. My superpower lies in bridging strategy, storytelling, and systems thinking to drive meaningful change. I'm currently exploring new opportunities to collaborate, create, and help shape what’s next.

Outside of work you can find me spending time with my wife and two kids (8 & 10), on a mountain bike trail, or behind a camera trying to capture the perfect shot.

EMPATHETIC
LEADER

STRATEGIC
THINKER

HIGH PERFORMER

Work Experience

My Professional Journey

Sep 2023 -Apr 2025

Founded and led the Cloud & Product Practice through hyper-growth during a critical scaling period that resulted in a successful acquisition at a 6x enterprise valuation in 18 months. Drove strategic and operational transformation across cloud, product development, and engineering functions while advising executive leadership and clients through innovation, scaling, and platform modernization efforts.

Managing Director, Cloud & Product

Scaled practice from 2 to 27 high-performing consultants in our US and Quito, Ecuador delivery centers in under 18 months
Contributed to firm-wide headcount growth of 5x and 4x increase in revenue
Advised C-level stakeholders across industries on cloud-native transformation and digital strategy
Created IP, GTM messaging, and delivery frameworks for enterprise client engagements
Supported acquisition due diligence with insight into service line performance and scalability

Apr 2011 - Aug 2023

Leader on the global strategy team working with all markets to deliver value for Slalom’s clients with emphasis on digital transformation, business architecture, product & market research, and program leadership.

Responsible for creating and leading an Internet of Things (IoT) community which included the management of a $50,000 budget.

Created a Microsoft Dynamics CRM center of excellence and managed the channel alliance with Microsoft for Slalom. Additionally, created unique perspectives, frameworks, and intellectual property focused on Slalom’s strengths across verticals.

Senior Solution Principal, Strategy

Created Go-to-Market strategy and messaging tailored specifically to the opportunities found within Slalom markets
Founding member and leader of Slalom’s IoT Community with responsibilities that include inspiring, nurturing, and growing interest in IoT amongst Slalom’s 15,000 employees
Identify, formally establish, and develop new relationships with strategic vendors in the IoT space

Practice Area Lead, CRM

Created and managed an MSCRM CoE as part of the National team with 12 consultants accounting for $3.7M in revenue
Responsible for owning and managing the channel relationship between Slalom and Microsoft sellers, account executives, and partner managers
Selected to participate in and completed Slalom’s leadership training program, LIFT

Solution Architect, CRM

First CRM consultant in Slalom's Dallas market responsible for growing and managing a team of 8 CRM subject matter experts accounting for $2.5MM in yearly professional services revenue
Developed a white label clienteling platform agnostic solution for the retail and hospitality space. Created on a small form factor device and developed to be run on on top of Microsoft Dynamics CRM or Salesforce

May 2005 - Mar 2011

Technical CRM consultant involved in all facets of the software development lifecycle. Key responsibilities included conducting business and workflow analysis on client business models, architecting and developing technical solutions, and providing necessary quality assurance for work product.

MSCRM Consultant, Architect, and Trainer

Certified Microsoft Dynamics CRM consultant responsible for technical implementation of solutions for clients
Responsible for configuration of client solutions through the use of form and view configurations, the creation of client side scripts, and development of MSCRM callouts and plugins written in C#
Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT) Compiled and delivered custom training curriculum for clients

Industry Case Studies

Food Safety Alignment

Challenge:
A major QSR group managing multiple top-tier brands needed to modernize outdated, manual food safety practices—but lacked clarity on where to start.

Approach:
I led two design thinking workshops with brand executives to uncover pain points, align priorities, and define a shared vision for the future. The result of these executive sessions was a pragmatic roadmap that balanced quick wins with long-term transformation.

Impact:
The resulting Food Safety Roadmap jumpstarted modernization efforts, prioritized critical areas, and unified leadership around proactive, scalable practices—setting a new bar for operational excellence.

Franchisee Information Management

Challenge:
A fast-growing Mexican QSR brand needed to overhaul outdated systems to support their goal of expanding to over 7,000 locations. Franchisee tools were clunky, inconsistent, and lacked the usability required for scale.

Approach:
We led a multi-stream transformation to modernize both internal support operations and the franchisee experience. This included implementing a franchisee relationship management platform with real-time communication, site tracking, and integrated contract workflows.

Impact:
The platform drastically reduced response times, boosted new store applications, and enabled the executive team to forecast growth with real-time analytics—becoming a cornerstone of the brand’s expansion strategy.

Children's Hospital | Commercializing Predictive AI

Challenge:
A top-ranked children’s hospital had developed an AI model that could predict pediatric mental health issues but lacked a clear commercialization strategy.

Approach:
Through stakeholder workshops and industry research, my team and I defined the model’s use cases, personas, and guiding principles. We assessed regulatory pathways and conducted market sizing and competitive analysis.

Impact:
The hospital gained a clear roadmap to commercialize the AI model, with actionable strategies to maximize ROI and bring their innovation to market.

Medical Research Center | Clinical Research Strategy

Challenge:
A renowned nonprofit medical center needed help modernizing research systems to accelerate clinical trials and innovation. Their current model was outdated and too slow to keep pace with peers.

Approach:
I led a technical workstream that assessed organizational capabilities via interviews, surveys, and workshops, and developed a capability maturity model to identify gaps and prioritize investment areas.

Impact:
The resulting transformation roadmap aligned leadership, informed RFPs, and guided immediate investment decisions—enabling faster progress toward digital research maturity.

Children's Hospital | Website Modernization Roadmap

The Challenge:
A leading pediatric hospital needed to overhaul its outdated public-facing website but lacked clarity on where to start or what tech stack to pursue.

Approach:
I led an 8-week multi-workstream engagement that evaluated current gaps, aligned stakeholders, and created a pragmatic roadmap. We recommended a modern, intuitive tech stack and an 18-month mobilization plan.

Impact:
The hospital now has a clear implementation strategy, proposed operating model, and defined milestones—positioning them to deliver a transformed digital experience and exit legacy systems.

Tech | Business Application Strategy & Future-State Roadmap

Challenge:
The client, a leader in consumer cyber security products, had a complex and fragmented application landscape which lacked strategic alignment with evolving business goals, creating inefficiencies in data access, reporting, and internal operations. With recent restructuring, the company needed a clear strategy to modernize core systems, reduce technical debt, and support empowered teams.

Approach:
Over a 12-week engagement, I led a cross-functional initiative alongside IT and business leaders. We conducted over 40 working sessions, built a business capability model with 300+ capabilities, assessed strategic readiness, and prioritized initiatives across domains like ERP, CLM, and Data. We developed a phased roadmap including quick wins, major investments, and transformation timelines aligned to IPO readiness and top-line growth.

Impact:
The client now has a clear, prioritized roadmap that supports enterprise data strategy, contract lifecycle modernization, ERP transformation, and improved internal employee and product feedback loops. These initiatives position the company for scalable growth, investor confidence, and enhanced internal collaboration.

Mortgage Software | CRM Platform Modernization

Challenge:
The client, a mortgage technology provider, relied heavily on Microsoft Dynamics CRM to support their sales and product licensing. However, the system had become difficult to scale and lacked needed automation for critical financial workflows like ACH and license activation..

Approach:
I led a multi-phase engagement that assessed the current solution implementation, documented system limitations, and developed a roadmap for modernization. This included building enhancements for order processing, ACH billing automation, licensing, and quote-to-cash visibility. I collaborated closely with internal teams to deploy, test, and release functionality across multiple sprints

Impact:
The client now benefits from a more streamlined and automated CRM solution that better supports monthly billing and sales processes. The engagement delivered several quick wins through custom development while establishing a clear foundation for ongoing CRM evolution, governance, and future integration.