Melissa Sassi

As IBM Z’s Chief Penguin, Melissa Sassi created her own IBM penguin title and leads Student & Entrepreneur Experience worldwide. She’s a Call for Code Judge focused on solving the world’s challenges via tech innovation. Prior to IBM, Melissa was an energy and internet access impact investor at Microsoft. As Founder and CEO of MentorNations, Melissa created a youth-led digital skills movement teaching tens of thousands of youths to code in twelve countries.

Melissa's Chair of IEEE's Digital Intelligence Working Group & Founding Member of Coalition for Digital Intelligence with WEF, OECD, IEEE & DQ Institute. She holds several Board positions in digital inclusion nonprofits. As a PhD candidate, she researches the digital inclusion of underserved communities. In addition, she serves on a UN Round Table for the High-Level Panel for Digital Cooperation. Also, Melissa is an avid speaker on digital skills, tech entrepreneurship, community building, youth empowerment, imposter syndrome and personal branding.