Over Melanie van de Velde
The 9-year-old Melanie van de Velde was asked what problem she would like to solve when she grew up. Her answer was 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. The suffering she’s witnessed has only strengthened the ambition in her childhood.
Dr Van de Velde was awarded the Adam Smith Prize for PhD Excellence at the University of Glasgow. Nominated for the prize by Dr Haugh, Research Director at the Centre for Social Innovation at Cambridge University, her thesis was the source of many of the insights found in LOVE YOUR LEGACY.
Her other academic achievements include an MBA with Distinction at the Adam Smith Business School, and an MSc in Industrial Engineering.
With an unusually 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 an impact business for young women without an education in a Nairobi slum.
Big Tree Global Ltd, her consultancy, helps companies to create effective impact strategies. And B Journeys Ltd, of which she’s the founder, is a digital platform directing travel to areas in need of economic development.
Raised in a small town in the Netherlands, she now lives with her partner and children in Scotland’s largest city.
