Meet The Team
Melanie Wood
President - D&D Consult and Train
Talent Optimization Advisor | Organizational Effectiveness and M&A Strategist | Trusted Partner to CEOs, Boards & PE-Backed Leadership Teams
Melanie Wood is an Executive Advisor and Leadership Strategist who partners with CEOs, executive teams, and organizations navigating growth, transformation, and organizational complexity to ensure exceptional, scalable organizational performance.
Drawing on expertise in behavioral science, industrial and Organizational Psychology, executive coaching, and talent strategy, Melanie helps leaders strengthen decision-making, improve organizational alignment, and build high-performing teams capable of sustaining long-term growth.
For more than 18 years, she has advised Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 organizations across healthcare, medical devices, financial services, manufacturing, utilities, education, and professional services. Her work often sits at the intersection of strategy, leadership, culture, and execution — helping organizations navigate critical moments with clarity and confidence.
Melanie is particularly recognized for her work in turning growth strategies and acquisitions into organizational success by supporting teams through the M&A process. Melanie helps organizations save time, money, and effort by accelerating integration, making more informed hiring/retention decisions, aligning cultures, strengthening communication, and building trust across teams during periods of complexity and change, both pre- and post-merger.
Known for quickly establishing credibility with leaders at all levels of an organization, she is frequently retained as a trusted advisor and executive coach. Her ability to translate complex behavioral and organizational challenges into practical business strategies has made her a valued partner to executives seeking stronger leadership teams, healthier cultures, and scalable organizational performance. Melanie brings a unique blend of strategic insight, executive presence, adaptability, and science-backed methodologies to every engagement, helping organizations turn leadership and culture into a competitive advantage.
Joe Porpiglia
Vice President, D&D Consult and Train
Corporate Consultant & Senior Trainer
Joe Porpiglia is a highly experienced Talent Optimization Advisor and corporate consultant and trainer, bringing more than 35 years of executive leadership to help organizations optimize their people, strategies, and operations for peak performance.
A seasoned C-level executive, Joe has directed strategy, organization, operations, competitive positioning, new business models, growth initiatives, and cost/operational improvements across large and mid-sized corporations. His career highlights include rising from part-time sales clerk to Senior Vice President at Greenbelt Cooperative, overseeing 18 retail stores and distribution centers as Regional Vice President; serving as General Manager for Cort Furniture's largest market; leading the rapid expansion of ExecuStay (Marriott) by opening 14 distribution centers in one year; and advancing to Senior Vice President responsible for their full portfolio. In 2005, he became Chief Operating Officer of The Atchison Group, managing two companies—National Corporate Housing and Apartment Outfitters—before co-founding D&D Consult and Train in 2008 with his daughter Melanie to focus on teaching, mentoring, and developing managers.
Leveraging his deep operational expertise alongside behavioral science tools, Joe partners with companies to make data-driven decisions on talent, build high-performing teams, enhance leadership capabilities, improve employee engagement and retention, and drive measurable business results. As Vice President of D&D Consult and Train and a key consultant and trainer with a focus on applied behavioral insights, he combines real-world executive insight with science-backed assessments to help leaders hire smarter, manage better, and achieve sustainable growth—delivering practical, impactful guidance that inspires teams and strengthens organizations.