Melina Anthony ─ Establishing a framework for customer experience and customer success wrapped around customer business priorities...
June 23, 2021 • 3 Minute Read
Updated September 2022
Melina Anthony
Program Success Principal Consultant
Qualtrics
(Previously—Director, Customer Experience
Arraya Solutions)
Are you looking for a leader who has built a customer experience framework and customer success team to align with its customer’s business priorities in every engagement? We know the person—Melina Anthony.
Melina Anthony is a Program Success Principal Consultant for Qualtrics. She works as an advisor to Fortune 500 companies partnering with them to become experience leaders in the marketplace by building out enterprise experience programs across employee, customer, brand, and product. She was previously the Director of Customer Experience at Arraya Solutions, where she oversaw development of its Customer Experience framework and Customer Success team to ensure it aligned with its customer’s business priorities in every engagement. Melina also focuses on the development, management and strategic execution of its lifecycle management.
Please meet this IT Wondrous Woman™, Melina Anthony.
Our 10 Questions for this IT Wondrous Woman.
Fun Facts
1. What’s the one thing about you that your business colleagues don’t know about you?
I started taking improv classes a few years ago and I have performed for several live audiences!
2. Before the pandemic, how many air miles/KMs did you flying annually?
There was a time in my career that I traveled quite a bit, but for the last few years I have been working remotely and I find that I am the most productive in my home office.
3. What is the most adventurous food you have eaten and what city/location did you eat it?
When I was in Thailand many years ago, I was served a very delicious coconut-based soup by a restaurant when I was on a tour. It was called “bird’s nest soup”, which is made from the saliva nest of Swiftlets.
Your Career
4. What are the top two experiences, achievements or failures that shaped your journey as a successful leader?
I credit my leadership success to the variety of employment I have had in the past and the people who have taught me along the way. As a successful leader you need to know how to work with a variety of personalities and how to adapt to the environment you are in. I really believe my work experiences have given me this skill.
5. Did you have a mentor in the early part of your career and, if so, what is the biggest lesson you learned from your mentor or influencer?
My mentors have been my older siblings! As the youngest of 8 children in a Greek family, there was a noticeable age difference between us. The biggest lesson they taught me was how to engage with and learn from different age groups which is key to any business leader’s success.
Walking In Your Shoes
6. What is one piece of business or career advice you would give to your younger self?
I would tell my younger self to be confident in making decisions. If you have done your research, analyzed your data and put in the work to figure something out then you should be firm in your decision and trust that it will all work out for the best.
7. As a leader, how do you remain a resource for people early in their careers?
I never stop sharing the knowledge that I have acquired with those around me whether that be with my family, those on my team or a customer. I love helping people and seeing their efforts grow into something wonderful and something that is their own.
Today’s Business Environment
8. What is the most interesting project you have worked on in the last few years?
The most interesting project was working with the federal government’s national counterterrorism group a few years ago. This is when I really started taking an interest in cyber security and data mining.
9. What skills are you currently developing or refining (in yourself) that will make you a more successful leader in the digital economy?
In the digital economy it is critical to be a great active listener and have the ability to process and analyze information quickly so I am always refining those skills.
10. What is your greatest business challenge today?
Accelerating technology changes, which can act as a barrier and add complexity for my clients and my company. There is a fine balance between choosing the right technology and actually getting an organization to use it and see value from it.
