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Melissa Ludwig

Director, CSS Industries

Former Group Vice President, Macy’s

 Melissa Ludwig

Melissa Ludwig is an insightful, strategic executive and nimble problem solver with an accomplished, longstanding business leadership career at Macy’s. With direct P&L accountability, Melissa led businesses from $380M to $600M and high-performing, multidisciplinary organizations ranging in size from 1,300 to 3,000. She brings deep expertise in strategic planning, operations, financial management, M&A integration, organizational design, real estate and the customer experience along with a record of building new capabilities, positioning businesses for responsible growth and sustained success, and delivering consistent results.

As a Senior Vice President and Group Vice President at Macy’s, Melissa served as a valued leadership mentor, advanced executive teams and steered organizations through significant business reinvention, transformation and growth while mitigating financial, operational and talent risk. She launched new business operations, restructured organizations, led multiple M&A integrations and brand conversions, implemented technology innovations and built omnichannel capabilities. Partnering with Bain & Co., Melissa also led a successful pilot program for the corporation’s business localization strategy, with decentralized merchandising and planning functions, paving the course for Macy’s national operating model.

Throughout her career, Melissa’s leadership accountability spanned the New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C. and Baltimore markets with direct VP-level executive teams and organizations across Operations, Merchandising, Planning, Visual, Human Resources and Asset Protection. Prior to her senior executive appointments as a chief market expert, Melissa served as the youngest, first female Vice President and business head for the iconic Herald Square location in NYC where she steered a remarkable turnaround. She has also cultivated a strong professional network, with longstanding relationships among the business, civic and cultural communities through her external-facing efforts at Macy’s – and beyond.

Melissa has been actively engaged in multiple for-profit and non-profit organizations as a board member, strategic advisor, investor and consultant. She is currently a Board Member for CSS Industries Inc. (NYSE:CSS) a consumer products company.

As a member of Broad Street Angels, an angel investment community, Melissa is conducting due diligence to evaluate the investment viability of early-stage companies across the Real Estate, Medical Device, Technology and Healthcare industries. This work along with Melissa’s passion for business innovation has resulted in personal investments in the Healthcare and Technology space and an Advisory Board role, providing leadership team counsel and networking advancements. As a consultant and advisor, Melissa has also partnered with multiple fashion business entrepreneurs in the market developing organizational structuring, business planning and executive talent acquisition.

Melissa is a member of NACD, the National Association for Corporate Directors, and serves on the membership Admissions and club series committee for The Union League of Philadelphia. Melissa is also a Corporate Governance Committee Member of the Forum for Executive Women.