“Don’t let anyone tell you that you’re too young or too feminine for a role. Don’t let conventions or traditional role expectations hold you back—follow your dreams,” advises Melissa Endres.

Melissa is one of the youngest in her management circle. At 35, she is Senior Director of the Project Transformation Office at Lufthansa Technik and co-founded the company’s first female network a few years ago. Today, the network has over 1,000 members, making it the largest women’s network within the Lufthansa Group.

In her role, she leads transformation activities in the engines sector, an area that encompasses around 2,500 employees. To enable further growth in the coming years, personnel needs to be hired and trained, and processes optimized and automated. Her work could serve as a blueprint for change projects in other sectors.

Melissa has known since her first role as a team leader that she enjoys taking on leadership responsibilities. “I want to accompany people on their journey and offer them opportunities for development,” says the experienced planner. For her, success always belongs to the entire team: “The solution always lies within the team.”

Melissa is happy to discuss topics such as female leadership, new work, change, cultural transformation, and organizational change.

 

Frauen des Jahres 2024/2025 (available only in German language)
Link to the book