Principal & President
Melissa Lentz founded M. Hatter Consulting in 2014, helping businesses convert the madness of change into new revenue-generating opportunities. Melissa also serves as the Global CEO of MAGNET, a global network of the world’s leading independent advertising agencies representing over 3,500 marketing professionals and more than 800 clients around the globe.
Melissa’s experience leading innovative initiatives spans top global brands, award-winning advertising agencies, and storied communication businesses. Over the course of her career, she's partnered with forty percent of Interbrand's top twenty-five global brands. A born builder, she’s established a reputation designing and scaling digital services, organizations, and international operations.
Under her leadership, companies have been named to Fast Company's Most Innovative List, AdAge’s Best Places to Work index, and garnered awards from MediaWeek, OMMA, and Editor & Publisher. In 2016, Melissa and M. Hatter were honored with AWNY's (now She Runs It) GenNext Award recognizing leadership and impact in the communications industry.
Previously, Melissa served as Managing Partner of Mr Youth/MRY. There, she spearheaded the build-out of the agency’s service capabilities and management of its client portfolio. After the successful sale of the agency, she shepherded the organization’s international expansion across twenty-two markets and opened its first sibling office on the West Coast. Melissa started her career at Ogilvy and Tribal DDB.
Melissa has explored the topic of change management and digital transformation as a panelist with Business Insider, OMMA, 4A’s, ANA, and General Assembly, and is a frequent guest lecturer at Georgetown’s Integrated Marketing Communications Masters Program. She is a graduate of Duke University.
What People Are Saying
“Working with M. Hatter Consulting was literally transformative for our business. Melissa’s sharp clarity combined with depth of knowledge and experience helped to radically shift the structure of our organization in ways that meaningfully and powerfully impacted our business.”
— DAVID Y, FOUNDER & CEO OF Mllnnl
“M. Hatter Consulting is a rare and exceptional 21st century accelerator. They restructured our strategic, operational, and financial approach to digital. Melissa infused new thinking, new frameworks, new capabilities and new workflows into the existing fabric of our agency. M. Hatter Consulting is arguably one of the nation's leading advisors to make agencies shine and succeed, and anyone who gets to work with them is lucky. ”
— LAURA T. while DIRECTOR OF STRATEGY at McKinney
“M. Hatter Consulting helped us re-imagine a new business model utilizing assets that were losing value in their current state. They dove in to understand the challenge, developed creative solutions, and built out our business plan. Melissa was thoughtful, diligent, and extremely responsive to our needs. She was a pleasure to work with and I would gladly engage her firm again.”
— SUSAN M. while GENERAL MANAGER of USA TODAY
“M. Hatter Consulting is creative and current. They know media trends and understands how to scale a project. More importantly, they took us to places we never considered. In addition, Melissa is an absolute pleasure to be around. She is so fun and positive, going above and beyond. We felt from the first minute of working with her that she was on our team and would do everything she could to help us succeed. We highly recommend her firm.”
— CHRISSY B, GM of Duke University Chronicle
“Melissa is an excellent communicator who employs a hands-on approach throughout engagements. She is relentless in her pursuit of excellence and importantly, leading with both expertise and passion. Melissa genuinely cares about her client’s business and the desired outcome.”
— VERONICA S. former CMO of SBE Entertainment & HEAD OF MARKETING Caesars Entertainment
“M. Hatter Consulting was integral in scaling our global operations. Melissa’s understanding of the landscape, best practices and likely pitfalls helped us accomplish our goal, minus a ton of unnecessary pain.”
— TONY C. while DIRECTOR OF ANALYTICS at Big Spaceship
“She is on a mission to actively redefine what’s next for our industry and beyond. Melissa is a very special talent and an inspirational leader truly dedicated to making us all better.”
— KINNEY E. EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR at Tribal Worldwide
“I brought M. Hatter Consulting into our international team to help re-organize, re-orient and productize our unique global service offering for our Fortune 500 clients. She went above and beyond. She brings positive energy and an enthusiasm that makes the often complex material she is sharing more accessible to everyone across the organization. She inspires top level achievement and a focus on results among all those with whom she interacts. In my experience, there are few leaders and even fewer consultants who can do this with equal effectiveness or consistency.”
— ROB A, CEO of Convergent Media Group