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Second in Command: The Chief Behind the Chief with Cameron Herold

Ep. 526 - Edesia Nutrition COO Dr. Melonie Boone Shares Secrets to Scaling a Life-Saving Mission

Second in Command: The Chief Behind the Chief with Cameron Herold

Second in Command with Cameron Herold

Business, Management, Careers, Entrepreneurship

4.9 • 224 Ratings

🗓️ 11 November 2025

⏱️ 49 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In this episode of the Second in Command Podcast, guest host Sivana Brewer sits down with Dr. Melonie Boone, Chief Operating Officer of Edesia Nutrition, a Rhode Island–based nonprofit on a mission to end childhood malnutrition worldwide.

Dr. Boone shares her inspiring journey from corporate HR and executive consulting to joining a purpose-driven organization where every product saves lives. She opens up about leaving her consulting career to relocate her family and help Edesia scale globally while staying rooted in its humanitarian mission.

Together, Sivana and Melonie explore what it means to lead in a business where the stakes are life and death, balancing operational excellence with empathy, trust, and resilience. From creating healthy CEO-COO dynamics to rebuilding confidence after crisis, she offers grounded advice for leaders who want to make impact and results coexist.

Timestamped Highlights

[00:02:31] – Dr. Boone explains Edesia Nutrition’s mission to eradicate malnutrition and how each box of product saves a child’s life.

[00:04:29] – The personal loss that inspired her to pursue work with deeper purpose.

[00:06:27] – How consulting for Edesia’s CEO turned into a full-time COO opportunity.

[00:08:09] – Combining her lifelong drive to lead with her mother’s legacy of service.

[00:10:14] – What challenges she was first hired to solve and how her HR and strategy background helped.

[00:13:13] – Transitioning from consultant to COO and setting early “ground rules” for success.

[00:15:00] – Dividing responsibilities with the founder and managing blurred lines gracefully.

[00:16:20] – Facing two major business disruptions in her first six months on the job.

[00:18:47] – Learning to adapt her leadership style during crises and rebuild trust.

[00:20:18] – The power of transparency and “fighting together” with the CEO.

[00:22:29] – How her four academic degrees shaped her approach to leadership.

[00:24:08] – The lesson behind “anyone can show the numbers, but what do they mean?”

[00:26:05] – Knowing which “Melonie” to bring into each meeting—coach, operator, or psychologist.

[00:27:28] – How she keeps the pulse across 14 departments with weekly updates and morale checks.

[00:31:29] – Using technology and HRIS tools to streamline communication and one-on-ones.

[00:34:18] – Building cross-functional buy-in before making any system change.

[00:36:50] – Tracking team morale and staying intentionally visible to every shift.

[00:38:42] – Leading with authenticity as an introvert in a people-driven culture.

[00:41:26] – Creating connection and fun through culture rituals, bingo, and bagel Tuesdays.

[00:44:43] – What’s ahead: a 100,000 sq ft expansion, global growth, and personal goals for joy and balance.

[00:47:00] – Her advice for aspiring COOs, current operators, and CEOs hiring their “number two.”

Resources & Mentions


About the Guest

Dr. Melonie Boone is the Chief Operating Officer of Edesia Nutrition, a global nonprofit that produces fortified foods to treat and prevent childhood malnutrition. With four degrees spanning human resources, business law, psychology, and an MBA, she blends academic depth with practical leadership.

Before joining Edesia, Dr. Boone built a career in executive consulting and organizational development, serving corporate and nonprofit leaders alike. Her passion for purpose-driven impact, paired with her operational rigor, drives Edesia’s mission to ensure no child dies from malnutrition.

đź”— Website | LinkedIn | Instagram | X | YouTube | Pinterest

About the Co-Host

Sivana Brewer is a Fractional COO for Remote Teams and former COO at Closers.io, where she helped scale the company to multiple eight figures and built over 500+ sales teams in just 2.5 years. She specializes in leadership development, remote operations, and systems that empower teams to grow sustainably.

đź”— Connect with Sivana on LinkedIn

Important Links


The Second in Command Podcast is an original production hosted by Cameron Herold and co-hosted by Sivana Brewer. Brought to you by COO Alliance. Production and editing by Podcast Your Brand.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

everything that we try to do, and I know people say, like, we're not making decisions by

0:03.9

consensus by any stretch, but you need the input from others, and you learn a lot because, like,

0:09.9

I am not using FAP to put orders in to make sure that it goes to the printer and all of those

0:16.5

things that it needs to do. So we have to talk to the people who are actually using the system

0:21.4

to make sure it makes sense for us. And we're not like, we don't want to move just to move,

0:26.6

right? There needs to be an impact, a positive impact on the business, a cost savings that

0:32.1

doesn't sacrifice, like time, productivity, and things like that. So we think through all of those things before we make final decisions on systems change.

0:48.3

Welcome to the Second in Command podcast, produced by the CIO Alliance, and brought you by its founder, Cameron Harold.

0:56.0

In the Second In Command podcast, we talked to top COOs who share the insights, strategies, and tactics that made them the chief behind the chief.

1:05.0

And now here's your co-host, former CEO of a multi-eight-figure remote company and alumni member of the COO Alliance, Savannah Brewer.

1:17.4

Today on the Second in Command podcast, we are joined by Dr. Melanie Boone, the CEO of Edesia Nutrition.

1:26.1

They're an organization on a mission to end childhood malnutrition

1:29.6

worldwide. Melanie brings a rare combination of business psychology, operational rigor, and people

1:36.1

first leadership, having built her career across corporate leadership, nonprofit management, and

1:41.1

executive consulting. She's also the author of heroic leadership and holds a doctorate in organizational leadership,

1:48.4

blending academic depth with real-world impact.

1:51.9

In this conversation, we explore what it's like to lead a company where the mission carries

1:55.9

deep emotional weight and how she manages that while still running the business effectively.

2:01.5

We talk about how she transitioned from consultant to COO, the ground rule that set her up for

2:06.7

success with that, and why staying really close to the ground and caring deeply about people

2:11.5

is critical for operational leaders.

2:13.9

She also shares practical insights on tracking team morale across different departments and implementing systems where you can really generate buy-in ensuring the change doesn't just happen, but really sticks and is impactful with your team.

...

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