Prologis is pleased to welcome Melissa Sachs as the company’s new global head of corporate communications. Reporting directly to chairman and CEO Hamid R. Moghadam, Melissa will oversee internal and external communications across a spectrum of geographies and Prologis departments. A communications veteran with more than two decades of experience, Melissa ran the Corporate Communications and Investor Relations departments at Denver-based DCT Industrial Trust, which was recently acquired by Prologis.
In her role at DCT, Melissa led strategic planning and execution for the company’s internal, external and financial communications, as well as branding and marketing. Her depth of knowledge in all areas of corporate and financial communications, strategy and marketing, coupled with her experience in the logistics real estate sector, makes her a natural fit for her new role.
While moving her family from Denver to the Bay Area is a major undertaking, Melissa said she could not pass up the opportunity. Citing the visionary leadership of Moghadam and his operating committee, she explained, “I tracked Prologis for more than seven years in my work at DCT. I listened to every earnings call and paid close attention to where the company’s brand and stories fit within our space. Prologis is obviously the leader in logistics real estate, but it does so much more than real estate—and that is also what excites me.”
Prior to DCT, Melissa was director of communications for the Americas region at Western Union (NYSE: WU). She led communications for the company’s U.S. and international product management with a strong emphasis on building the company’s reputation externally. A results-oriented communicator, Melissa architected Western Union’s 2010 multi-million dollar, dual-language communications plan, which led to significantly increased revenue for all product lines.
Melissa also spent five years with International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE: IFF) where she managed external communications and media relations. Like Western Union, IFF was a global company. According to Melissa, one aspect that appealed to her about Prologis was the opportunity to work with diverse people from around the world, something she thoroughly enjoyed at Western Union and IFF.
An early focus in broadcast journalism formed the foundation for Melissas’ career in corporate communications. After a couple of years as a news producer, she was eager for a new challenge. While the stories changed each day, work in the newsroom became routine. A mentor from the Denver NBC affiliate suggested that because she knew how media worked from the inside, she should consider a career in public relations. The fact that agency work requires learning a new industry with each new client was attractive to Melissa.
Born in New York City, Melissa was raised in the Denver suburb of Parker through high school. Returning to her East Coast roots, she earned a Master of Science in strategic communications from Columbia University, after earning both a Bachelor of Science in communications and a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of Miami, Florida.
Melissa serves on the board of directors for Special Olympics Colorado and is a member of the prestigious Arthur W. Page Society, the world's leading professional association for senior public relations and corporate communications executives and educators.
