Melissa Di Donato Roos

Melissa Di Donato Roos was born in New York and at a young age knew she wanted to make a mark on the world. Melissa was determined to have a positive impact on building confidence and bravery in young girls, so that the world would be full of determined and independent women. She entered the field of technology at the start of her career and has always been committed to ensuring a diverse and inclusive workplace. She is the first female CEO of SUSE, one of the world's largest Open Source technology companies.

As a thought leader and passionate supporter of women in technology, Melissa has received several industry awards and is recognised as one of the most transformative CEOs in the tech industry.

Melissa, with her husband, is the co-founder of Inner Wings, a charitable foundation dedicated to empowering young girls to be brave and confident. All the proceeds from Kick Like a Girl, along with Melissa’s two other children’s books How Do Mermaids Poo? and The Magic Box are invested into Inner Wings to fund confidence-building programmes for girls around the world.