Founder, President, Media Personality
Melissa is one of the world’s leading experts on the development of networks as a means of growing and accelerating brand loyalty and performance improvement inside and outside organizations. For more than a decade Melissa’s organization, Networlding, has provided exceptional relationship marketing and management innovation programs for organizations like AT&T, CNA, UBS, Hewitt, Motorola and Disney. The company specializes in social media and social networking in the business-to-business space.
Melissa is also the author and/or co-author of ten top-selling books. Her seventh book, co-authored with former CMO of Office Depot, Jocelyn Carter Miller, held the #10 spot on Amazon (in Chicago) for a year. Other books include:
- Networlding: Building Relationships and Opportunities for Success (#10 on Amazon, in Chicago, for 12 months)
- The Chicago Entrepreneurs Sourcebook (rated one of the top 10 small business books in Chicago)
- 75 Cage Rattling Questions that Change the Way You Work (McGraw Hill)
- The Power of Two: Rethinking and Reforming Strategic Alliances (Jossey Bass)
- Four of Melissa’s books have been on top business book lists including: The Power-of-Two and Networlding, recognized by Booz Allen as two of the top ten alliance management books.
Melissa has also been a guest on both radio and television including The Today Show, CNN, WGN, CNBC and FOX. One of her books was featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show. She is a frequent presenter at conferences looking for interactive sessions. Her unique program, The Extravaganza, has been highly evaluated by Meeting Professionals International (MPI) and she has won a Consummate Speaker of the Year Award.
With a BA in Sociology and a J.D. from DePaul University College of Law, Melissa went on to found Service Showcase, Inc., a consulting, training and coaching firm started in 1986. For the past twelve years she has grown the company to include clients like Price Waterhouse, AT&T, Dean Foods and Motorola as well as dozens of smaller companies and organizations. In 1998 she was chosen as one of six extraordinary women of the year by The University of Chicago Women’s Graduate Business Alumni Board. Networlding was recently licensed by Yale University through their graduate school of business.