WEX CEO Melissa Smith returns to campus as Distinguished Maine Policy Fellow

University of Maine alumna Melissa Smith, president and CEO of WEX, will return to campus April 11 as a Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center Distinguished Maine Policy Fellow.

In 1991, Smith earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in accounting at UMaine. At WEX — a provider of payment solutions that serves millions of companies worldwide — she leads the creation and execution of global strategy and development of talent and culture.

The native of Winn, Maine grew up on a potato farm. She says her mother was her first role model.

Photo by Tim GreenwayMelissa Smith

“I come from a long line of strong women, and my mom taught me to be willing to try,” Smith says on the WEX website. “She felt strongly that women should be able to support themselves and is a huge advocate for the importance of education. I think the key is to form a relationship with those you can learn from. Be willing to share and seek advice.”

Smith also says she is “incredibly open to people telling you that you’re wrong — which happens to me with some frequency — then move from that point into something that may be even better.”

She has been recognized for her achievements on multiple occasions during her 22 years at WEX, which employs more than 3,300 people in 11 countries, and went over $1 billion in annual revenue in 2016.

In 2017, Smith was a Mainebiz Business Leader of the Year. In 2015, she earned the Maine Women’s Fund’s tribute to Women in Industry Award. In 2014, Smith was PYMNTS.com’s Most Innovative Woman in Payments and one of PaymentsSource’s Most Influential Women in Payments. In 2013, the Girl Scouts of Maine presented her with a Women of Distinction Award and in 2012, Mainebiz listed Smith as a Woman to Watch.

Her daylong UMaine visit is scheduled to include a tour of the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, a visit to the Foster Center for Student Innovation, and a talk with Maine Business School students at Minsky Recital Hall.

Smith serves on the board of directors at Maine Health and Dead River. She participates in the Maine Cancer Foundation’s Tri for a Cure and she co-founded sheJams — which provides an atmosphere for women to train together in a noncompetitive spirit.

Distinguished Maine Policy Fellows are prominent Maine individuals with past or current careers as policymakers in the state. The Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center invites them to campus to present to an undergraduate class, engage faculty about research and public policy, and meet with administration and students. Recent fellows include Susan Corbett, Erin Herbig, Dawn Hill, David Bernhardt, Walter Whitcomb, Ellie Espling, Patrick Woodcock, Sara Gideon, Barton Seaver, Matt Dunlap, Roger Katz, Justin Alfond and Chris Rector.