Melanie is an accomplished Energy Executive, with over 25 years’ experience working with and leading large, multifunctional teams in Australia, US and SE Asia. She is passionate about supporting Australian female leaders in achieving greatness by sharing her knowledge.
After graduating from University of Melbourne with degrees in Chemical Engineering and Science, Melanie joined Esso Australia in 1995. She assembled a breadth of leadership experiences through roles in process engineering, reservoir and business planning in Australia before moving to US in 2005.
While living in Houston, she gained a global strategic perspective as a regional business advisor for ExxonMobil before returning to Australia to lead large operations and multifunctional technical teams. In 2014, Melanie moved to Asia where she served as General Manager Operations and later Chief Operating Officer for ExxonMobil Malaysia. Most recently, Melanie was President and CEO of ExxonMobil Indonesia until she returned to Australia this year. Her diverse global knowledge of the oil and gas industry across technical, risk management, operations, financial and organisational effectiveness is highly regarded.
In these roles, Melanie has developed strong strategic capabilities and industry-leading inclusive people skills to lead complex and diverse teams; she has shown how to empower teams by creating clarity, maintaining delegation of authority and celebrating outcomes. She knows the importance of drive and the productive use of self-investment.
As an engineer, Melanie has chosen non-traditional gender career path and has found success given her strong belief in the value of diverse and inclusive teams, the importance of maintaining authenticity and having a strong courage of conviction.
She believes deeply in the value of coaching and mentorship to foster a network of support to help individuals and teams reach their potential both personally and professionally.
Melanie and her family have recently decided to make Australia their home again which has given her the opportunity to reinvent professionally and pursue her interests in coaching, consulting and advocacy.
Melanie is a graduate of Australian Institute of Directors and a member of Women on Boards and is about to heighten her coaching skills with the Institute of Executive Coaching and Leadership.
