Melissa is the CEO of State Trustees, a role she has held for almost two years, and prior to which she held the role of General Manager of Trustee Services at State Trustees. Since becoming CEO, Melissa has actively championed the Voices of our Clients, creating a client-centric culture, the hallmarks of which include sharing a client story in her weekly email to all staff, and having a client story at the beginning of every leadership meeting and company town hall to ensure clients remain at the centre of the organisation. The results are record low client complaints, an increase in client satisfaction, and increased employee engagement.
Melissa’s inclusive and open leadership style is anchored in a deep sense of caring for clients and people. Her purpose-driven approach has seen Melissa featured on the Caring CEO Podcast and recognised in the Great Leaders Care book by Grahame Cowan, reflecting her belief that great leadership is grounded in authenticity, care, and human connection.
Prior to joining State Trustees, Melissa held numerous Executive roles in financial services and energy sectors including as Chief Customer Officer at AGL where she led AGL’s retail division and digital transformation program, and Executive General Manager NAB retail where she led service delivery across 750 branches Australia- wide. Melissa’s other executive roles were at Sensis, Esanda Finance and Westpac. Melissa is also an experienced Non-Executive Director, having served on listed, non- listed and not for profit boards. Melissa is an alumna of the Executive Leadership
Program at INSEAD, France.