Melissa Ratliff, M.A.

Melissa Ratliff, M.A. became Management inSites’ Chief Operating Officer in 2024. Prior to that, she was the VP of Marketing and continues to lead the marketing team as part of her COO duties.

Melissa started at MI in 2011 in a temporary role and rejoined the team in May 2014 after a stint at the Arts & Science Council, a non-profit in Charlotte, NC, where she developed educational grant programs. At MI she gets to combine her business acumen, eye for design and detail, and love for Europeans to help our clients succeed in the U.S. market.

Melissa leads the business development efforts for MI, liaising with local economic development professionals and additional FDI service providers to ensure foreign companies obtain the support they need when looking to enter the U.S. market. As a senior consultant with 10+ years of experience, Melissa steers companies utilizing our International Business Incubator (IBI) program through the establishment of their U.S. entity. During the startup phase, Melissa works with corporate lawyers, CPAs, immigration attorneys, insurance brokers, bankers, and more, to ensure companies are ready to start selling their product or service in the U.S. In this capacity, she focuses on overall business operations, serving as the Account Manager for multiple clients.

On the marketing side, Melissa and her team can help companies understand their competitor landscape in the U.S. prior to entry. She has written market studies and business plans, developed brands tailored to the U.S. market, served as brand manager and marketing director, and developed sales and marketing strategies for clients in both consumer and commercial goods.

Melissa also manages the marketing team at MI, which offers a full suite of digital marketing services and has in-house design capabilities. She enjoys ensuring clients’ existing marketing materials, websites, and messaging are tailored appropriately for success in the U.S. market.

Melissa has a Marketing Strategy Certificate from Cornell University. Her rigorous academic background has honed her critical thinking skills and ability to efficiently research projects. She is published and has presented in front of international audiences both academically and in the business world. While her undergraduate work took place at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, her M.A. and pursuit of a Ph.D. sent her to England (University of Leicester) and the Netherlands (University of Groningen), with fieldwork, conferences, and workshops in Belgium, Italy, Tunisia, and China just to name a few. Her expertise in cultural competencies spans the globe and helps set MI apart.

In 2021, Melissa joined the board of The Young Professionals of the World Affairs Council of Charlotte (YPWACC), where she has spearheaded new programming aimed at making global issues relevant and accessible to Charlotte’s young talent. She has moderated several panel discussions for the Drink About It program. From 2021 until 2025, she joined the Belgian American Chamber of the South’s (BACoS) Board as the sole representative for the state of North Carolina. In 2023, she completed the Emerging Business Leaders (EBL) program with the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance and joined the EBL Alumni Planning Committee to ensure graduates of the program stay connected and continue to grow their skills. You can read the article she shared for the program here.