Meet our Speakers

Melanie Gleeson is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of endota. Since founding the business in 2000 and opening the first endota spa in 2001, she has guided the vision, purpose and growth of the company, transforming it from a single spa on the Mornington Peninsula into one of Australasia's most recognised health and wellness brands.

At the heart of Melanie's leadership is a belief that wellbeing has the power to create positive change in people's lives. For more than two decades, she has championed a purpose-led approach to business, building a brand that supports people to reconnect with themselves, each other and the world around them. Guided by endota's values of Intent, Connect, Truth and Balance, Melanie has cultivated a business that places human connection, care and conscious living at its core.

Under Melanie's leadership, endota has grown into a wellness network spanning spas, skincare, education, retreats, digital wellbeing and international markets. The business develops award-winning COSMOS-certified skincare, operates training campuses in Australia and New Zealand, manufactures locally and delivers millions of wellness experiences to customers each year.

Melanie is a passionate advocate for unlocking human potential and creating opportunities for others to thrive. She is particularly proud of fostering a predominantly women-led workforce and empowering thousands of franchise partners, therapists and wellbeing professionals to build meaningful careers while making a positive impact in their communities.

A strong believer in conscious business, Melanie is committed to ensuring commercial success is balanced with social and environmental responsibility. Since 2016, endota has partnered with Indigenous women from the Marninwarntikura Resource Centre in Fitzroy Crossing, Western Australia, featuring their artwork on packaging and sharing a percentage of sales to support community initiatives. More recently partnering with Mother’s day Classic and Escabags, both charity partners support causes that support and empower women.

Melanie is a recognised entrepreneur, speaker and thought leader in wellness and heart-led leadership. She is regularly featured across print, digital and broadcast media and contributes extensively to conversations around wellbeing, leadership, purpose and conscious business.

She is an active member of the Futura Board Network, serves on the KX Pilates Advisory Board and participates in the Victorian Chamber for Change. Melanie also holds a Certificate in Accounting. And is a certified Reiki practitioner.