Melanie Kansil

Melanie is an experienced entrepreneur, C-suite executive, and Director across a range of consumer industries, with deep experience in strategy, digital, commercial partnerships, M&A, and operational leadership. Mel is currently Chief Strategy Officer at MECCA Brands, the leading beauty retailer in Australia and New Zealand, and a Non-Executive Director at Maurice Blackburn, the leading plaintiff law firm in Australia. She has founded and been CEO of two consumer tech start-ups. In the corporate world, she has been Chief Commercial Officer at The a2 Milk Company; Executive Director of Motoring Operations at the NRMA, where she was responsible for all operations of the company’s flagship roadside service; and Director of Strategy at Nine Entertainment Company. While at Nine, Mel helped set up Stan – securing board funding, establishing the joint venture with Fairfax Media and hiring the CEO. Mel began her career at McKinsey & Company in New York and Sydney, and has an AB in Physics from Harvard and an MBA from Stanford. Mel is a long-serving committee member and Past President of the Stanford Australia Association, and is the previous Chair of Early Start at the University of Wollongong. Mel loves food, travel, board games, and spending time with her husband and kids – preferably all combined! Her personal mission is to spread positivity in the world.