Melissa Emmanuel

Melissa Emmanuel is a senior global reward and people operations leader with over 20 years’ experience designing and delivering reward strategies that attract, engage, and retain critical talent in complex, fast-growing organisations.

Currently Head of International Compensation, Benefits and HR Operations,  Melissa has led enterprise-wide reward, benefits, and people operations strategies across entertainment, luxury fashion, professional services, technology, and hospitality sectors. Her work spans compensation philosophy design, incentive and bonus frameworks, job architecture, benefits strategy, workforce planning, and governance, always with a sharp focus on business outcomes and employee experience.

Melissa is known for translating data-led reward strategy into clear, compelling narratives that resonate with executive leaders and employees alike. She has successfully delivered reward programmes that have reduced turnover, improved internal mobility, strengthened pay transparency, and supported sustainable growth across international markets.

A trusted adviser to C-suite leaders, Melissa brings a pragmatic, human centred approach to reward,  balancing commercial rigour with fairness, inclusion, and long-term value creation. She is also a member of the REBA Advisory Board and a frequent contributor to industry discussions on the future of reward.

At this year’s Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development Reward Event, Melissa will explore how modern reward strategy can be used as a powerful lever to attract and retain key talent in an increasingly competitive and values-driven labour market.