Edition name – Top influential woman leader of the year-2026

Michelle Ponto is the Founder and CEO of Blue Gecko Communications and a globally respected strategic narrative and positioning advisor to leaders and organizations in complex and highly regulated industries. An Emmy-nominated journalist and Top 50 Disrupter Awardee, she brings more than 20 years of experience helping executives articulate who they are, where they are going, and how to communicate that with credibility across the GCC, Europe, and North America.

In 2021, Michelle founded Blue Gecko Communications as a strategic narrative advisory focused on leadership positioning, market strategy, and enterprise-level communications in industrial and technical sectors. Her work supports organizations at critical moments — whether shaping corporate direction, repositioning in new markets, navigating leadership change, or communicating sustainability and operational performance. Blue Gecko is often called when the story is complex, the stakes are high, and credibility matters most.

For more than a decade, Michelle has worked directly with senior leaders in energy, petrochemicals, advanced materials, technology, and science-driven institutions. Known for her judgment, precision, and credibility, she is trusted to translate complex business strategy into communication that is commercially grounded, strategically aligned, and trusted by investors, regulators, customers, and employees alike.

Please share the beginning of your career journey with us?

“I began my career as a journalist, and I was fortunate to work with organizations such as The New York Times, CBS, ABC News, and E.W. Scripps. That experience shaped everything I do today. Journalism trained me to ask the right questions, to look beyond surface-level narratives, and to uncover the real story behind complex issues. It also taught me how to pivot quickly when circumstances change.

After more than a decade in news, I transitioned into corporate communications. I found myself increasingly drawn to the stories unfolding inside organizations particularly in industries and regions undergoing significant transformation. Over the past 12+ years, I’ve worked closely with leaders in oil and gas, petrochemicals, advanced materials, science institutions, and emerging technology, supporting them as they communicate business transformation, sustainability, and leadership change across the GCC, Europe, and North America.

Over time, I kept seeing a consistent pattern. Companies were doing genuinely important work—investing in new technologies, redesigning value chains, and rethinking sustainability—but struggling to explain it clearly and credibly in a way the market could truly understand. Too often, the gap between strategy and storytelling became the point where trust was lost.

That realization led me to found Blue Gecko Communications in 2021. I created the company to help leaders and organizations articulate what they are doing, why it matters, and how it connects to real business priorities and decisions.”- Michelle Ponto.

Could you highlight the key offerings?

“Blue Gecko is not a traditional communications agency. Most of our work sits at the strategic level, where leadership teams are shaping direction, entering new markets, or refining how they lead and position their organizations.

We help organizations articulate the stories behind their strategy, and from there build narrative frameworks and messaging systems that align leadership communication with long-term business objectives.

We spend a lot of time supporting companies as they communicate real business priorities and performance — particularly across operations and sustainability — in industries where credibility matters deeply and where getting the story right has direct commercial and reputational impact.” – Michelle Ponto.

What are your long-term goals, and where do you envision yourself in the coming years?

“My long-term goal is to build Blue Gecko into a truly global advisory firm that develops scalable advisory models and practical communication frameworks organizations can embed directly into their data- and AI-enabled systems.

Today, many organizations already rely on AI and digital platforms for sustainability reporting, compliance, and operational decision-making. What is often missing is the narrative layer—the ability to translate data, strategy, and performance into coherent leadership stories, market positioning, and credible communication.

I want Blue Gecko to create the frameworks and advisory models that bridge systems, strategy, and storytelling—helping organizations connect what they are doing operationally with how they lead, communicate, and create long-term value in the market.”- Michelle Ponto.

Who has been the most significant source of inspiration in your life?

“I don’t have a single source of inspiration. I’ve been shaped by different people at very different moments in my life, each of whom helped define the path I’m on today.

Early in my career, Christine DiStadio had a profound impact on me. She took a chance on me at a time when newsrooms across the United States were undergoing a major digital transformation. More importantly, she trusted me with real responsibility, pushing me into leadership and asking me to guide a team of reporters through that change. That level of trust early in my career fundamentally shaped how I think about leadership, accountability, and what it truly means to invest in people during periods of uncertainty.

Later, while working in the Middle East, I was deeply inspired by women such as Dr. Najah Ashry and Samia Falimban. They were pioneers who helped forge a path for future female leaders in Saudi Arabia. What stayed with me most was their ability to lead with both strength and vulnerability. They showed me that leadership isn’t about having all the answers, but about creating space for others to grow, speak, and lead—especially in environments undergoing rapid change.

There have also been many other mentors and inspiring people along my journey—far too many to name here. Each of them shaped my mentoring philosophy today, encouraged me to take risks, and helped form the leader and advisor I’ve become”- Michelle Ponto.

Michelle Ponto does not frame her career through the lens of conventional obstacles. Instead, she views her greatest challenges as internal—moments that required self-trust, emotional resilience, and the willingness to move forward without certainty.

Her professional journey spans journalism, corporate communications, and entrepreneurship, a progression often perceived from the outside as difficult or risky. Yet, for Michelle, the challenge was never mastering new roles or industries. It was learning to sit with uncertainty and to trust her judgment before there was tangible proof that the next step would succeed.

One defining moment came as she prepared to leave the United States to begin a new chapter in Saudi Arabia. As she handed over the keys while selling her car, the reality of the transition fully set in. This was no longer a theoretical career shift—it was the act of leaving behind a country, a professional identity, and a life built around journalism, without a clear picture of what lay ahead. That moment crystallized a pattern that would repeat itself throughout her career.

Transitioning into corporate communications required rebuilding credibility from the ground up. Founding Blue Gecko Communications demanded an even deeper leap. While she had her own internal roadmap on what she wanted to accomplish, she had to accept that there would be no safety net and no external validation to confirm each decision along the way. Entrepreneurship meant learning to lead in ambiguity and to take responsibility for choices without guarantees.

Throughout her journey, moments of doubt inevitably surfaced: questioning whether she was qualified enough, whether the risks were too great, or whether remaining on a safer, more predictable path would have been wiser. Each time, however, the true obstacle was internal—deciding not to allow fear to dictate direction.

Michelle’s experience has shaped a clear philosophy: most professional barriers are not structural, but internal. Growth begins when uncertainty is acknowledged rather than avoided, and when progress continues even in the absence of complete certainty. This mindset underpins her leadership, her advisory work, and the trust she has built with leaders and organizations across her career.

Michelle Ponto’s journey is a reminder that the most enduring leadership is built not on certainty, but on clarity, courage, and trust in one’s own judgment. Through Blue Gecko Communications, she has carved out a distinctive space where strategy, credibility, and narrative converge—helping leaders communicate real transformation without compromise or distraction.