Maddi Ingham
Maddi Ingham, BCom, LLB: In recognition of community service and creating positive change in organisations.
Maddi was the Chief Coordinator of the Te Whare Pounamu (Dunedin Women's Refuge) Fundraising Campaign while at the University of Otago, raising more than $100,000. For this and other volunteering activities she was awarded the Outstanding Member of the Dunedin Community Award (2018), the University of Otago Gold Award for Contribution to the Community (2017), and the Otago University Student Leadership Award (2018).
Maddi is an ex-BCGer (Boston Consulting Group), who was selected to be a Startmate Fellow, and has recently begun as Chief of Staff at a Sydney startup, ChefPrep.
What was your reaction to receiving the award, and what does it mean to you?
It was an honour to be recognised, especially alongside so many other alumni doing such incredible things. It was a massive surprise and I feel very lucky to have been awarded the 20Twenties award.
What have you done since graduation and what are you doing now?
After graduation I moved to Sydney for a job with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), one of the global big three consulting firms. During my two years there I worked on a range of projects, spanning the energy, consumer, banking, social impact and public sectors.
After leaving BCG, I was selected as a Startmate Fellow, and spent three months undertaking the Fellowship, aimed at upskilling women to transition into the startup sector. In August of 2021 I started a new job as Chief of Staff for a new Sydney startup, ChefPrep. It has been fascinating to watch the organisation scale up from five to 12 employees (and growing fast!), raise over $4 million in funding, expand to new cities and build a loyal customer base.
What inspires and motivates you to work in the areas you are involved with?
I have loved getting to see a business begin as a crazy spark, and watch our team implement our ideas and grow it from nothing to a functioning business. I am lucky to work with such talented, innovative, enthusiastic people and see the whole lifecycle of a startup. I love solving problems that none of us have ever faced and getting stuck in to get things done.
What were the highlights of your time at Otago?
While I loved my classes, my highlights were always my extracurriculars, whether it was playing social basketball or netball for the law faculty, running the appeal week for the Women's Refuge, volunteering for the Innocence Project, or simply one of the many social events. Those are the times that I have treasured the most. I learnt so much from all of these activities - organisation, interpersonal skills, the value of research, structured thinking, leadership but mostly, ensuring I always have fun!