Over Melanie van de Velde
The nine-year-old Melanie van de Velde was asked what problem she would like to solve when she grew up. She answered that she wanted to help people who were living in poverty. At the time, she had yet to see severe deprivation first-hand, but in the years since, she’s travelled extensively and the suffering she’s witnessed has only strengthened her ambition in childhood.
Dr Van de Velde was awarded the Adam Smith Prize for PhD Excellence. Nominated for the prize by the Research Director at the Centre for Social Innovation at Cambridge University, her thesis was the source of many insights in her book LEAD LIKE A GENIUS: How to ougrow the competition and transform our world. The book was commended as "A Powerhouse for Sustainable Growth" by FORBES Books.
Her other academic achievements include an MBA with Distinction from the University of Glasgow in the UK, and an MSc in Industrial Engineering at the University of Twente in The Netherlands.
With a diverse CV, Dr Van de Velde has managed Asia Pacific markets at a multi-billion-dollar tech company. She’s worked in senior management at IT start-ups. And she’s run a fashion business to empower young women without an education in a Nairobi slum.
With Big Tree Global Ltd, she helps companies with the tools, insights and SDG Game to genuinely transform our world and create a competitive edge at the same time.
Raised in a small town in the Netherlands, she now lives with her partner and children in Scotland’s largest city.
