Get to know the CEO of Rebelution eCommerce & Milwaukee Lutheran High School class of ’88 graduate, Melonie Carnegie.

Where do you work, and how did you get started in that field?

I’m the CEO of Rebelution E-Commerce. When I graduated college, I went straight through and got my MBA, then worked for Ford, Grainger, and Lennox International. If you ask me my superpower, I would say leadership and followership - getting people to drive results. To date, I’ve managed probably half a billion dollar worth of sales. Moving into this new role as CEO, I’ve had the opportunity to look at a smaller company and drive the strategic direction of the company – to understand where we are and where we are going, put together solid plans, and execute those plans.

Who influenced you most in life?

It was my mom. She told me, “you can do anything you want to do. You can be anything you want to be.” And I believed her, and at that point, I just became unstoppable.

How did MLHS and your time there impact you?

Milwaukee Lutheran taught me to set goals that will scare you. And then work like heck to achieve those goals. I was not too fond of trigonometry in high school, but I figured if I got the right tutors and studied hard enough, I would pass it. So you set those goals and milestones, and even if you face adversity, you have two choices: You change your goals, or you change your approach to how you get there. Milwaukee Lutheran was also a predominantly white school at the time, and that experience taught me never to look at people based on race.

What would you say is your biggest accomplishment in life?

My kids are an obvious answer to that. But outside of that, I think of things like poms in high school, cheerleading in college, and bodybuilding now. I never thought I could do those things and was operating in fear. I always looked from the sidelines, and what that got me was regret. So sometimes, you have to change your mindset. Your experiences drive your beliefs, your beliefs spur you to action, and your actions take you to your results. So creating some good experiences took me out of my fear mindset and helped me achieve better results.

What’s the best part about your job, and what’s the most challenging part?

Leading people would be my answer to both questions – it is equally challenging and rewarding. I managed from a top-down approach in the larger companies I worked for. But moving into a smaller company, I had to take a more bottom-up approach, get my hands dirty, understand the business, and help people achieve their dreams.

What is your favorite memory from high school?

What I enjoyed most was our diverse group of friends. We were a close-knit group that supported one another and stepped into different spaces and experiences alongside one another. No one judged each other. We all tolerated each others’ differences and saw those as strengths and ways to get to know individuals and how they lived and grew up.

What is one piece of advice you would like to give to the next generation?

Be unstoppable. The sky is the limit. Henry Ford said, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t – you’re right.” Don’t complain about the results you got for the work you didn’t put in. You can achieve anything if you put your mind to it. Don’t let anything deter you, stay focused.