Melissa Kargiannakis

Melissa Kargiannakis is the Founder & CEO of skritswap: an AI startup with VC funding from Silicon Valley that swaps complex jargon into plain, easy-to-understand language. Imagine a mortgage at a grade 6 reading level. Or employment agreement at a grade 8 reading level.

Melissa is an award-winning founder. This year, she won the Women of Influence RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Awards, Ones to Watch and is a finalist for the Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada. In 2018, skritswap won the Top 20 Most Innovative Companies in Canada. Melissa won an award from the Queen of England for her leadership and community impact work in 2015. She is also nominated for Forbes 30 under 30.

Melissa exemplifies tenacity, grit, and impressive intellectual horsepower. She gracefully balances both approachable vulnerability and never-ending strength. She brings the zest and charm to any conversation, including speaking at Google HW in NYC; Bloomberg in San Francisco; and at Rotman at U of T in Toronto, etc.

In addition to leading skritswap, Melissa sits on two boards in the USA: the Center for Plain Language Board of Directors and the sxswEDU Launch Advisory Board. Previously, Melissa was a Research Director overseeing 120 doctors; has been a Fellow at the largest innovation centre in Canada – MaRS; and has published master’s research on in-home medical monitoring devices.