Melissa Miller
Posted On: Dec. 4, 2011 12:00 AM CST
Director, Employee Benefits and Services
NextEra Energy L.L.C.
Juno Beach, Fla.
Age: 40
Melissa Miller serves as the director of employee benefits and services for NextEra Energy L.L.C. Her areas of responsibility include design, implementation, administration, compliance and accounting for the health and welfare, retirement and time-off programs for NextEra's 15,000 employees and 4,600 retirees. In addition, Ms. Miller participates on the company's investment committee and serves as an officer for the company's administrative committee. She previously held a variety of roles in employee benefits, labor, and human resources mergers and acquisitions. In 1995, she joined Florida Power & Light Co., the electric utility subsidiary of NextEra Energy, where she began her career on the employee services help line. Ms. Miller earned a bachelor's degree in business management, finance and marketing from Florida Atlantic University, and completed her master's degree in business administration at Florida Atlantic University.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO WOMEN ENTERING THIS FIELD?
Work hard, learn as much as you can, and put your best efforts in. I think it's a level playing field, and it's up to us to make sure it's a level playing field by being our best.
WHAT IS THE MOST INTERESTING THING YOU'VE LEARNED IN YOUR CAREER?
The most interesting thing I've learned in my career is the importance of learning how to work with other people and developing relationships. I believe that my team and I are more successful and can really get the job done because we've taken the time to understand how to work with each other and how to leverage our strengths.
DID YOU HAVE A MENTOR EARLY IN YOUR CAREER?
I didn't really have a mentor, but I do feel that I had several champions providing me with new opportunities and support. They affected my path by driving my work experience, by getting me exposure, getting me on the right projects to learn the right skills, allowing me to step into roles where I could learn and grow and do things I had never really done before.
WHAT IS YOUR DREAM JOB, OUTSIDE OF YOUR CURRENT ROLE?
I would probably want to do community outreach within an organization—fundraising and building relationships with local leaders and other groups to help out the communities where we do business.
OUTSIDE OF FAMILY AND COLLEAGUES, WHOM DO YOU ADMIRE MOST?
The people I admire most are the educators in our community. They have a very difficult job, earn modest wages and have very few resources at their disposal, yet they continue to do an amazing job making sure our children can grow and prosper.
WHAT'S YOUR CAN'T-MISS TV SHOW?
“Grey's Anatomy,” because it's high-energy, it's dramatic and it can engage you in the storyline.
BEYOND WORK, WHAT ONE THING DO YOU WANT TO DO OR ACCOMPLISH IN LIFE?
I want to be a great wife and mother. Family, from the time I was born, has been the most important thing in my life.
DO YOU USE SOCIAL MEDIA? IF NOT, WHY NOT?
I do use Facebook and LinkedIn for connectivity. I use Facebook to connect with friends and family. It gives me the ability to provide and receive updates from friends and family. I use LinkedIn from a business perspective. I like being connected to colleagues I don't see on a regular basis and knowing what's going on in their careers.