Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Melissa is a people-first executive who is passionate about using technology to maximize impact, especially through data and AI. Her strengths include strategy, business development, and future-focused leadership. As Co-CEO of SoftwareOne, she helps drive innovation for the global provider of software and cloud solutions, which has about 13,000 employees across 70+ countries. SoftwareOne combined with Crayon in July 2025 to help more customers and partners reduce costs, accelerate growth, and navigate complex IT environments. As the CEO of Crayon, Melissa has led the company through transformative growth, expanding its global footprint, deepening vendor relationships, and helping companies worldwide leverage the power of technology to drive the greater good. Prior to Crayon, Melissa spent 12 years at Microsoft, leading strategy and business development worldwide to help businesses be profitable through cloud transformation. She focused on enabling partners and customers to accelerate their business transformation and deliver profitability, efficiency and scale across Microsoft’s Cloud services resulting in over three million people skilled and over 100K certifications. She has authored 12 books on how to build a successful business in the cloud. Before Microsoft, she spent two years at Intel Corporation, driving a cross-company analysis into the effectiveness of using recycled chips for solar technology, to reduce fixed costs. This work contributed to Intel’s success in ranking as one of the top 10 “Greenest” U.S. companies. She currently serves on the Board of Directors at Hilti, a technology provider for the construction industry. Previously, she was a board member of SHE, Europe’s largest gender diversity conference, and Techstep, a mobile technology company. Melissa holds a master’s degree in business administration and strategic management from Regis University and an undergraduate in Finance from the University of Portland. Melissa resides in Zurich, Switzerland with her husband and two children.
Co-CEO of SoftwareOne, a global software and cloud solutions provider with 13,000 people across more than 70 countries that helps organizations unlock greater value from their technology investments. Melissa’s leadership is grounded in integrity, inclusion, and empowerment through fostering a growth-focused culture. She’s committed to ensuring technology is applied responsibly to deliver meaningful, real-world outcomes.
Chief Executive Officer of Crayon, a global leader in providing innovation and services to help companies worldwide leverage the power of technology to drive the greater good. Charismatic, people-first executive who is passionate about using technology to maximize impact, especially through data and AI. Strengths include strategy, business development, and future-focused leadership.
Leads Crayon’s global services and solutions strategy to drive long-term customer success and innovation in the cloud with specialization across migration, data, and AI.
At Microsoft, Melissa led the global strategy and business development for how businesses can be profitable in the Cloud. Specifically, Melissa led a global team focusing on enabling partners to accelerate their business transformation in the Cloud delivering increased profitability, efficiency, and scale across Microsoft's Cloud services. This effort resulted in record setting results in skilling over 3M people and achieving 100K certifications. Melissa has authored 12 books, enabling partners to build successful businesses with over 1.5M downloads achieved.
As the worlwide sales strategy lead, Melissa drove Cloud business development for Microsoft in the small and medium sized business. Specifically, Melissa was focused on driving initiatives and programs across Office 365, Azure, CRM Online, and EMS as part of Microsoft’s Cloud portfolio of products to enable partners and customers to accelerate their business transformation to the cloud. To achieve record breaking results in the cloud, Melissa also acted as the global lead across 200 sales teams to help their partners develop a successful Cloud business.
In OEM, Melissa was responsible for the strategy and execution of Microsoft’s OEM Channel Incentives designed to drive co-marketing programs with Partners in efforts of growing market share and revenue growth across the Windows, Office, and Server products.
Prior to joining Microsoft, Melissa worked as a consultant to Microsoft in the Business Incubation and Online Services group to streamline operational billing processes and work closely with external customers to ensure Volume Licensing orders and transactions were completed with accuracy and precision.
Before joining Microsoft, Melissa worked at Intel Corporation as a Finance Manager where she drove a cross-company analysis into the effectiveness of utilizing recycled chips for solar technology in the efforts of reducing fixed costs. This initiative ultimately led the company to being ranked one of the top 10 “Greenest” companies in the US.