Melissa Riley

Commander
DISC Type : D

Director of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Development at The Benevolent Society

Greater Brisbane Area, Australia

Overview

Melissa is the Director of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Development at The Benevolent Society, where she leads the First Nations Strategy. Her career spans leadership roles at The Minderoo Foundation and Commonwealth Bank, focusing on Indigenous employment and leadership. She holds both a Bachelors and Masters degree from QUT.

Describing herself as a "teacher at heart, " Melissa is driven by community empowerment and cultural integrity. She is a passionate advocate for First Nations voices in all levels of decision-making and is committed to fostering environments where others can succeed, showing pride in the success of young professionals.

Unique fact: She directed the strategic transition of the First Nations Employment Index to an Indigenous organization to uphold Indigenous data sovereignty principles.

Personality Overview

Impact-Driven

Risk-Taker

Strong-Willed

They are less concerned about the product and more about its potential impact.  They put a lot of effort into ensuring personal success. They like to stay in control of the negotiation or defining of the terms.

Topics They Care About

Indigenous Leadership
Her career is dedicated to creating and leading programs that empower First Nations leadership and embed cultural authority within major organizations.
First Nations Strategy
She develops and implements organization-wide strategies, including at Commonwealth Bank and The Benevolent Society, to improve First Nations employment, retention, and career growth.
Data Sovereignty
She led the transition of major employment research to an Indigenous organization, actively supporting the principle of Indigenous data sovereignty.

Media Appearances

Melissa has no verified media appearances

Work History

7-2025
Director of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Development at The Benevolent Society
1-2025 - 10-2025
General Manager Research and Capability at The Alliance (National Indigenous Employment & Training Alliance)
5-2023 - 1-2025
Head of Industry & Capability at The Minderoo Foundation
9-2022 - 1-2025
Senior Manager- Indigenous Engagement, Technology and Operations at Commonwealth Bank
8-2022 - 5-2023
Senior Manager (Indigenous Engagement) at Commonwealth Bank (CBA)

Education

Bachelor's degree from QUT (Queensland University of Technology)
Master's degree from QUT (Queensland University of Technology)

More Information

Social Presence :

Prographics :

Exp : 4 Location : Greater Brisbane Area, Australia Job Level : Mid-senior Designation : Director of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Development at The Benevolent Society
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Insights For Selling To Melissa

During A Call Or A Meeting

DO's

  • Get to the point quickly instead of spending time doing small talk
  • Help them weigh the risks by sharing objective proof points without becoming too analytical
  • Refer to testimonials from well-known industry leaders

DONT's

  • Avoid being a storyteller and don’t try to oversell
  • Do not spend too much time focusing on product tech or features
  • Do not back off when challenged, respond with a confident, objective answer instead

When Cold Calling

When Writing An Email

While Negotiating & Closing

    The secret to closing fast with Melissa is

  • Confidence in impact is paramount to them, followed by a sense of achievement and ROI.
  • Will you ever get a clear answer from Melissa

  • If they decide not to go ahead, they will say no without hesitation.

Insights For Deal Planning

    How fast (or slow) will Melissa move?

  • If convinced, they can reach decisions quite fast.
  • Can Melissa take some risk or not?

  • They do not shy away from taking risks, but can be quite binary about them.

You And Melissa

Personality Compatibility


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