Biography

Melissa Harris is the founder and CEO of Chicago-based marketing agency, M. Harris & Co. Its job: Make its clients unforgettable.

With Pulitzer Prize winner Mary Schmich, she also owns media company Mary & Melissa Productions, which is producing an upcoming seven-part limited podcast series in partnership with PRX. 

Simon & Schuster will publish her first book, Everybody Needs an Editor, in September 2024.

After founding her the agency in 2016, it quickly began racking up awards. She was part of the 2018 Clio Award-winning team behind the Cards Against Humanity Saves America campaign, as well as the 2017 Reed Award from Campaigns & Elections for best earned media, and a 2017 Golden Trumpet Award from the Publicity Club of Chicago. 

The firm operates on the reputation and experience of its team members: Its 50-and-growing collaborators comprise former top editors and reporters; Netflix film directors; Pulitzer Prize and James Beard Award winners.

Harris began her career as a journalist, capping 15 years in media as a business columnist for the Chicago Tribune. While earning her MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, she joined a real estate private equity firm, where as vice president of marketing she helped raise more than $70 million and launched its online investing platform.

Harris also holds degrees from Johns Hopkins University and Northwestern University. In addition to her position as Adjunct Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship, she serves as Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, where she frequently teaches seminars and advises startups on marketing and communication. She also serves as a governing board member for The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.

Academic Areas

  • Entrepreneurship