--- title: Free Range - Product Innovation + Storytelling description: Melissa Waters, VP of Marketing at Lyft, discusses ambiguity, work-life balance, and new challenges in the transportation space. image: https://freerange.com/hubfs/Old%20Free%20Range%20Website/JPGs,%20JPEGs/Melissa-Waters-headshot.jpg --- ![](https://freerange.com/hubfs/Old%20Free%20Range%20Website/JPGs,%20JPEGs/Melissa-Waters-headshot.jpg) # Driving Innovation, Creating Momentum Free Range Oct 1, 2020 | Services | [Storytelling](https://freerange.com/blog/?tag=storytelling) | | --- | --- | | Industries | [F1000+](https://freerange.com/blog/?tag=f1000) | | Share | [![Share on Facebook](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/facebook-24x24.png)](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Ffreerange.com%2Fblog%2Fthrive%2Fconversation%2Fmelissa-waters%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dfacebook) [![Share on LinkedIn](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/linkedin-24x24.png)](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Ffreerange.com%2Fblog%2Fthrive%2Fconversation%2Fmelissa-waters%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dlinkedin) [![Share on Twitter](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/twitter-24x24.png)](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Ffreerange.com%2Fblog%2Fthrive%2Fconversation%2Fmelissa-waters%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dtwitter&url=https%3A%2F%2Ffreerange.com%2Fblog%2Fthrive%2Fconversation%2Fmelissa-waters%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dtwitter&source=tweetbutton&text=Free%20Range%20-%20Product%20Innovation%20%2B%20Storytelling) [![Share on Email](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/email-24x24.png)](mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20https%3A%2F%2Ffreerange.com%2Fblog%2Fthrive%2Fconversation%2Fmelissa-waters%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Demail%20&body=Check%20out%20https%3A%2F%2Ffreerange.com%2Fblog%2Fthrive%2Fconversation%2Fmelissa-waters%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Demail) | [Transcript](https://freerange.com/hubfs/Old%20Free%20Range%20Website/Transcripts/04_MelissaWaters_Lyft_Thrive_042717.pdf) [Audio](https://freerange.com/hubfs/Old%20Free%20Range%20Website/Thrive%20Audio%20Files/Thrive_MelissaWaters_050117.mp3) Melissa Waters has been navigating changing landscapes throughout her career. Since joining Lyft as the Vice President of Marketing, she’s lead the company’s brand and marketing strategy in a highly competitive, nascent market. Focused on fueling growth of the business, Melissa [recognizes](http://mashable.com/2016/12/28/lyft-marketing-melissa-waters/) tremendous opportunity to also lead the charge to grow change for communities. An innovative mindset is critical as Lyft continues to expand its markets, increase engagement, and introduce new products. Prior to Lyft, Melissa spent five years at Pandora, most recently as Vice President of Brand and Product Marketing. She’s also held a variety of brand, performance, and marketing positions at Flip Video, Diamond Foods, and The Home Depot. Melissa holds an MBA from Babson College. In a conversation with THRIVE, Melissa shares stories of finding comfort in ambiguity; her experience navigating career and family (and her take on hiring working parents); the challenges surrounding new technologies entering the transportation space; and balancing values and financial targets within an organization.  ## Related Posts ## No results found [![](https://freerange.com/hubfs/Screenshot%202025-01-26%20at%203.58.23%20PM.png) ## Unlocking the Power of Archetypes to Elevate Your Brand Storytelling, Articles, Branding, Blog ](https://freerange.com/blog/archetype-quiz-0) [Storytelling](https://freerange.com/blog?tags=storytelling), [Articles](https://freerange.com/blog?tags=articles), [Branding](https://freerange.com/blog?tags=branding), [Blog](https://freerange.com/blog?tags=blog) ## [Unlocking the Power of Archetypes to Elevate Your Brand](https://freerange.com/blog/archetype-quiz-0) [View Post](https://freerange.com/blog/archetype-quiz-0) Share [![Share on Facebook](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/facebook-24x24.png)](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Ffreerange.com%2Fblog%2Farchetype-quiz-0%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dfacebook) [![Share on LinkedIn](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/linkedin-24x24.png)](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Ffreerange.com%2Fblog%2Farchetype-quiz-0%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dlinkedin) [![Share on Twitter](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/twitter-24x24.png)](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Ffreerange.com%2Fblog%2Farchetype-quiz-0%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dtwitter&url=https%3A%2F%2Ffreerange.com%2Fblog%2Farchetype-quiz-0%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dtwitter&source=tweetbutton&text=Free%20Range%20-%20Product%20Innovation%20%2B%20Storytelling) [![Share on Email](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/email-24x24.png)](mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20https%3A%2F%2Ffreerange.com%2Fblog%2Farchetype-quiz-0%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Demail%20&body=Check%20out%20https%3A%2F%2Ffreerange.com%2Fblog%2Farchetype-quiz-0%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Demail) [![](https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/0f705CqiNVCar56f8UVjs_yt2iKYUkjX2emAVDE0oVBrzDY9WHr1MIQNtuet53Qfrfb5ZuQZu0jFub6RWuounGHidwHPNDJpni2vbJvXgECdIyXDEotVhNvUWO9xmqJC0rZzkUKd) ## 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