EVANSTON, ILL. — Melissa Grady Dias (IMC98), global chief marketing officer at Cadillac, will address integrated marketing communications master’s graduates and their families at Medill’s convocation ceremony on Saturday, December 10.

As CMO, Grady Dias leads strategic marketing for the Cadillac brand around the world. Recently, Grady Dias was recognized by Forbes as one of “The 50 Most Influential CMOs in the World.”

“I’m excited to welcome Melissa back to campus to speak to our newest IMC graduates,” said Medill Dean Charles Whitaker. “As we enter Medill’s second century, it is important to showcase the heights that Medill alumni can achieve. Melissa’s career represents the unlimited futures open to Medill graduates.”

Prior to joining Cadillac, Grady Dias was senior vice president of performance marketing, digital and e-commerce of Jackson Hewitt, where she was responsible for all demand driving activities including television and jacksonhewitt.com as well as the implementation of a hyper-local digital media program across several thousand locations. Before Jackson Hewitt, Grady Dias led digital acquisition on the global marketing team at MetLife where she led digital strategy for the U.S. market and acquisition programs for several lines of business, resulting in large year-over-year growth, and managed metrics plans and insights across all key global markets. Prior to MetLife, Grady Dias led the global analytics, e-commerce marketing, and CRM teams at Motorola.

“I am so looking forward to coming back to Medill to speak at graduation,” said Grady Dias. “It means so much to look back and remember my time at Medill, and how it shaped and inspired me as I embarked on my career.”

The convocation ceremony will start at 10 a.m. on Saturday, December 10 and will be livestreamed and recorded for later viewing.

In addition to Grady Dias, one student speaker from each program has been selected by the students, faculty and staff to speak at the graduation ceremonies.

IMC Pro Speaker: Noor Jassmi

Noor A. Jassmi (IMC22) completed her undergraduate studies from Medill in Journalism with a certificate in Strategic Communications and a certificate in Middle Eastern Studies from Northwestern’s branch campus in Qatar in 2018. As a double alumna of Medill, Noor continues to use the tools and knowledge gained from her degree to excel in her professional journey at a young age in which she has already gained global experiences in public relations and social media as she initially worked for the world’s best airline and lead on both local and regional media as well as events and inaugurals. Noor currently works in the Marketing Department at Qatar Foundation as she further applies the knowledge she gained from Medill on her job in her hometown Doha-Qatar.

IMC Full-Time Speaker: Aastha Desai

Aastha Desai (IMC22), helped orchestrate and organize multiple events in her time here. Desai has also been a mentor and unofficial ambassador for the program to our next batch of students, making them feel at home here at Medill. Always available to lend a hand, she has a strong passion for start-ups, an eye for detail, and is skilled in storytelling.