With a background in education, leadership and finance, Melina Denebeim has a passion for empowering people and organizations to reach their highest potential. In her capacity as an educator, she directs the Program for Financial Studies (PFS) at Columbia Business School. The PFS bridges academia and industry in the realm of finance & economics, with a focus on creating content and bringing together leaders in the cross-over of finance & economics into data science, analytics, technology and innovation.

She is also building a “Business of Life” curriculum through her MFL Coaching practice that includes over 20 modules organized thematically into business values & principles, “street smart finance” and personal finance. 

Prior to her work as a coach and educator she worked in capital markets and M&A advisory for 8 years at banks including Credit Suisse and Guggenheim Partners. Melina has co-authored a Columbia CaseWorks technical note on LBO Valuation. At the Business School she facilitates an NYC immersion course for MBA and EMBA students titled “Creative Destruction in Financial Services” and created a seminar on leadership in investment banking, held each spring through the career management center.

Melina earned an MBA from Columbia Business School and a BA in English Literature from Georgetown University. She is also trained through the Neuroleadership Institute in brain-based coaching. Melina is an advisor to Savvy Ladies, an organization that provides free financial education and resources to women with the goal of empowering them to achieve financial independence.