Melanie Robinson | |
|---|---|
 Commodore Melanie Robinson in February 2020 | |
| Birth name | Melanie Suzanne Rees[1] |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Branch | Royal Navy |
| Years of service | 1993–2023 |
| Rank | Commodore |
| Commands | Maritime Reserve HMS Express WalesUniversity Royal Naval Unit |
| Awards | Commander of the Order of the British Empire |
| Alma mater | Cardiff University Open University |
| Spouse | |
CommodoreMelanie Suzanne "Mel"Robinson,CBE, ADC is a retired British seniorRoyal Naval Reserve officer. She was Commander ofMaritime Reserves from February 2020 until retirement in July 2023.[2]
Robinson has a degree fromCardiff University.[3] She also has aMaster of Science (MSc) degree inhuman resource management from theOpen University.[4]
She was commissioned in Supplementary List of theRoyal Navy as asub-lieutenant on 6 January 1993.[5] She was appointed to the Trained Strength on 15 October 1994.[5] Her early career was as awarfare officer, serving in a number offrigates and minor war vessels.[3]
As commander of the CardiffUniversity Royal Naval Unit (now Wales URNU) and its training shipHMS Express, despite her claim to be the first (https://windsorleadership.org.uk/mel-robinson-biography), she was one of the first cohort of women to command a Royal Navy patrol vessel- still a remarkable achievement, so no need to over-egg it.[3][6][7] She transferred to theRoyal Naval Reserve with the rank ofcommander in November 2015.[8] She was promoted tocommodore on 4 February 2020, and was then one of four women to hold that rank.[6][9]
Robinson was appointed aCommander of the Order of the British Empire in the2022 Birthday Honours.[10]
In 1998, she marriedGuy Robinson.[1][11] Vice Admiral Robinson is a fellow retired Royal Navy officer whose last draft was with NATO as Chief of Staff toSupreme Allied Commander Transformation.[12] They have two children.[11] As an Executive Coach she founded Women in Leadership Consultancy Ltd in 2018 (https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/11213259/officers) which was dissolved in 2019. Her personal credo for Leadership (apparently without irony) is simply described on her LinkedIn page as: "Be gorgeous. Shine Brightly. Love life. A simple self-maintenance model I designed to transition from surviving the challenge of balancing work and life, to thriving in the opportunities that an inclusive employer like Royal Navy offered me across a 30 year career".https://www.linkedin.com/posts/mel-robinson-cbe_be-gorgeous-shine-brightly-love-life-activity-7078267529508315136--MSS/?trk=public_profile_like_view