Melissa Gonzalez

Visionary
DISC Type : Ds

Principal and Shareholder at MG2 Design

New York, New York, United States

Overview

Melissa Gonzalez is a Principal at MG2 and founder of MG2 Advisory, recognized as an expert in experiential retail, consumer strategy, and brand innovation. A former Wall Street executive, she authored two books and hosts the "Retail Refined" podcast. People familiar with her work describe her as hard-working, driven, and dependable.

Outside of work, Melissa is an adventurer who seeks inspiration from activities like skydiving from 10, 000 feet. Her recent work is also deeply influenced by personal well-being, focusing on how leaders can balance ambition with a more intentional and purposeful life, a theme spurred by a personal health event.

Unique fact: She combines a business background from Wall Street with creative training from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Personality Overview

Fast But Thoughtful

Early Adopter

Big Vision Person

They are very professional in their approach and can weigh multiple perspectives together.  Reading between the lines and seeing beyond your words comes naturally to them. They exhibit a rare combination of being result-oriented but patient at the same time.

Topics They Care About

Experiential Retail
Pioneered the 'pop-up revolution' with her firm The Lionesque Group and her first book, focusing on creating immersive, human-centric brand experiences in physical spaces.
Purposeful Leadership
Her recent book, "The Purpose Pivot, " explores how leaders can integrate vulnerability, intuition, and personal well-being into their professional lives for sustainable success.
Retail Technology
Focuses on integrating cutting-edge technology into physical retail. She serves on the advisory board for Crave Retail, a company specializing in smart fitting rooms.

Media Appearances

Melissa has no verified media appearances

Work History

1-2020
Principal and Shareholder at MG2 Design
12-2024
Shareholder at Colliers Engineering & Design
3-2025
Author at Wiley
11-2023
Advisory Board Member at Crave Retail
5-2020
Host - Retail Refined Podcast at MarketScale

Education

Bachelor from Penn State University
2004 - 2006
Education details unavailable from American Academy of Dramatic Arts

More Information

Social Presence :

Prographics :

Exp : 6 Location : New York, New York, United States Job Level : Middle Designation : Principal and Shareholder at MG2 Design
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Insights For Selling To Melissa

During A Call Or A Meeting

DO's

  • Suggest clear next steps with confidence, don't be vague or hesitant
  • Focus on the results that your product produces, expect some strategic questions in return
  • You can spend time on BANT (or other qualification methodology) but keep it to the point

DONT's

  • Don't focus too much on mutual contacts or bother about other stakeholders, focus on them
  • Don't get into pricing discussions early on, steer conversation towards proven results
  • Don't shy away from asking hard questions, but be extra polite

When Cold Calling

When Writing An Email

While Negotiating & Closing

    The secret to closing fast with Melissa is

  • Strong proof of impact and their conviction will matter the most, but they wouldn't want to act unilaterally either
  • Will you ever get a clear answer from Melissa

  • They will say no if they are not convinced but you will have to prompt them.

Insights For Deal Planning

    How fast (or slow) will Melissa move?

  • They will want to understand things well but can move fast once they have a clear picture.
  • Can Melissa take some risk or not?

  • They have good risk tolerance but are likely to think it through once or twice.

You And Melissa

Personality Compatibility


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