She steps into the position from her previous commission of Executive Vice President and Deputy Managing for the same market
Porter Novelli has named Melissa Kraus Taylor to the role of Managing Director for its Atlanta office. Responsible for talent management and strategic growth, she reports to Brad MacAfee, the network’s President of North America. She helped create and lead the agency’s client service excellence initiative.
She co-created and is dean of the firm’s formal global professional development programme, Greater Than University. She steps into the position from her previous commission of Executive Vice President and Deputy Managing for the same market, succeeding her superior, who has since been promoted.
A 17-year veteran with the agency, Taylor has extensive experience in strategic planning, training, facilitation, team development as well as strategic message development and positioning. A trained focus group moderator and certified professional coach, she has led strategic planning across the London and Atlanta offices.
“Melissa is a true leader. Her efforts have been particularly powerful when it comes to talent, and helping to build and enhance Porter Novelli as a workplace committed to constant learning and development for our team,” said Brad MacAfee, President, North America at Porter Novelli.
Taylor earned her master’s degree in health communication from the University of Maryland, College Park. For more than a decade, she has taught social marketing at Emory University’s Graduate School of Public Health, where she was named Emory Adjunct Faculty Honoree for Excellence in Teaching and Mentoring.
