About Maddie
Throughout every stage of her life, Maddie Umali has asked questions in pursuit of understanding. As a kid, her constant “why?” may have leaned more annoying than charming — but today, that same instinct to dig deeper has shaped her into an award-winning consumer insights and research leader.
The magic Maddie brings to her work isn’t just in the questions she asks, but in the space she creates for the answers. After conducting hundreds of one-on-one, in-depth interviews with people from nearly every walk of life, she knows the most meaningful insights are rarely simple. They’re layered, contradictory, emotional — and often hiding in the messy middle of human experience.
With a background in strategy, Maddie specializes in translating ambiguous problem spaces into clear, actionable insight — helping teams understand not just what people do and say, but why it matters. Her work is grounded in rigor and delivered with heart, designed to spark clarity, creative momentum, and confident decision-making. You’ll never be bored by her findings — and if she’s done her job well, you’ll leave feeling something: awe, surprise, clarity, delight… and a clear sense of what to do next.
Maddie has led end-to-end qualitative and mixed-methods research across industries including CPG, retail, automotive, technology, healthcare, government, and travel. She is deeply experienced in building and scaling research practices — from embedded, always-on insights engines to agile, rapid-turn programs — partnering closely with product, design, strategy, creative, data, and technology teams to ensure research meaningfully shapes direction, reduces risk, and drives impact.
Her work has been recognized with a Silver David Ogilvy Award, and she is a graduate of the Ascend Leadership Program for rising AAPI leaders. Maddie has also completed Forrester's Customer Experience certification, and she is a member of several research organizations including the ARF and QRCA.
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