Lessons on leadership from Retail Zipline CEO Melissa Wong

When Melissa Wong worked in communications at Old Navy, she witnessed a massive disconnect between what was said by headquarters and what was heard by store workers. She realized that retail communications tools were built for workers sitting stationary at desks, not deskless workers moving constantly to manage inventory and service customers. She and her co-founder Jeremy Baker launched Retail Zipline to streamline communications across the entire retail footprint. They had a clear vision and continue to address a real need, but as a first-time CEO, Melissa needed to learn to recognize her unique leadership style and, as part of that, become comfortable leaning into her strengths. She has been recognized as a top female executive trailblazer driving innovation in the rapidly changing retail industry, a Forbes thought leader and Retail Zipline continues to be awarded Best Tech Places to Work in the Bay Area and is one of the Most Innovative B2B Retail Startups by CB Insights.