Maddie Everhardt, 26
Channel Marketing & Digital Services Manager
Siemens
Maddie started with Siemens in its Sales Development Program in January 2022 after leaving a career in the biotechnology field. Following this six-month rotation, she stepped into a field position as a distributor sales engineer where she supported Siemens’s authorized distributors in West Tennessee, East Arkansas, and Mississippi. “Over an eight-month tenure, I found success by working to streamline distributor inventory with project business producing a 40% YoY increase in sales and facilitated onboarding three new strategic customer accounts to further penetrate the residential market,” recalled Maddie.
In May 2023, she accepted a position within the business unit on the marketing team. “I graduated from the University of Alabama at Birmingham with a marketing degree in 2020, so this transition was the culmination of my educational background and real work experience,” she said. “The time spent as a distributor sales engineer provided me with internal and external insights that prove to be crucial in my current day to day.”
This role expanded Maddie’s “territory” from a few states to the entire nation. “I work closely with product management, business developers, and sales management to create innovative tools and solutions supporting go-to-market efforts,” she said. “Externally, I work alongside national trade organizations (IEC, NECA, ELECTRI International, Electrical Training Alliance, IBEW) and valued business partners to promote workforce development for the construction trades by providing access to innovative technologies like spatial computing, XR, and AI.”
Although she has been employed by Siemens just shy of three years, the company has been a part of Maddie’s life since the day she was born. “My father worked 40 years for Siemens in the same business group I now have the opportunity to work for,” she explained. “Growing up, I vividly remember following my dad down to the garage so he could explain residential distribution systems. I can remember him pointing out utility substations while driving to soccer games and us pulling over to take it all in! I personally never saw a future for myself in this industry, but unprecedented times (2020 COVID-19) and newfound interests in technical sales opened the door to a career I can’t imagine not having.”
Asked what continues to interest her about the industry, Maddie said, “From my first few weeks with Siemens, my perspective of the industry was wildly changed. Before entering the industry, analyzing common distribution systems or the nation’s electrical infrastructure in general was not something I considered. Gaining an understanding of how crucial the work our industry is responsible for provided me with a newfound respect. The industry remains appealing to me simply for the impact it has on our daily lives and our future. Electricity is often taken for granted until one takes the time to understand the complex nature of its origin and distribution. The work done in industry today will impact our lineages for decades to come. Understanding that I can positively influence this brings me great satisfaction.”
Workforce development is one of the most pressing industry challenges Maddie focuses on daily. “In my role, I am enabled to support workforce development by providing intuitive, engaging digital solutions for the electrical trade,” she explained. “For every 10,000 electricians retiring annually, only 7,000 are entering the trade. To support the minimization of this deficit, I look to provide high school, collegiate, and trade organizations with engaging electrical training through digital ecosystems. To attract this next generation and retain individuals who show interest, it is important we take responsibility to provide information in the way upcoming generations are comfortable with. As digital natives, the next generation workforce is accustomed to seeking and consuming information in a digital format. In primary education, textbooks and lessons are increasingly being delivered digitally—why should we take a step back as these individuals advance into their careers?”
She noted that aside from the organic benefits digital technology has with upcoming generations, the learning statistics for experiential learning show vast improvement from traditional means. “With VR training, learners can be trained up to four times faster and are up to 275% more confident than when learning with traditional materials. Understanding the increasing infrastructure demands introduced by recent legislative policy, the impact of virtual reality training alone can greatly benefit our existing and upcoming workforce,” she said.
To further supplement and support workforce development, Maddie manages the Siemens’ Sischool program—a curriculum enhancement program created to strengthen customer relations, support workforce development, and inspire brand advocacy. “Through the program, I provide electrical apprenticeship training programs access to Siemens’ digital training portfolio and product donations to supplement the digital training with hands-on lab experience. Since taking ownership of the program in May 2023, we have successfully enrolled 69 partners across 29 states, have installed 28 training labs, and over the last year have incited national partnerships with IEC Foundation and the Electrical Training Alliance. These national partnerships enable us to scale workforce development efforts for independent and union affiliated apprentice training providers in a more efficient way.”
Maddie is currently working to achieve her next career goal of launching an AI-based sales enablement tool for internal and external use called Pneuma, which will come to fruition as a mobile and web-based application, leveraging generative AI to provide users technical and experiential resources for training, selling, and marketing efforts.
“With Pneuma, users can efficiently source information and choose from a large selection of resources to consume sourced information,” she explained. “For example, when looking for more information on a disconnect switch, users can view a PDF specification sheet, project a 3D model of the switch into their environment using augmented reality, or even access step-by-step 3D intelligent instructions for the product’s installation. Our goal is to provide the utmost visibility and accessibility to products without the need to physically obtain and transport items.”
What would Maddie tell someone just entering the industry? “Always ask questions no matter how frivolous you may think your question is,” she said. “In a complex industry, it is impossible to know everything within your first year and even then, some topics are region-specific. You will never know if you never ask.”
Outside of work Maddie enjoys time outdoors hiking, biking, and playing pickleball. “Most of my free time is focused on supporting a personal venture,” she noted. “My boyfriend and I opened a dessert shop in downtown Memphis within the last year. Whether I am baking cookies or basking in the sun, any free time I have is spent with my beloved friends and family!”
Each year tED magazine recognizes 30 of the industry’s best and brightest under the age of 35. Please visit tedmag.com/30Under35 for nomination information and updates about the 2025 program. Questions can be sent to tED Editor Misty Byers at mbyers@naed.org.
Tagged with 2024 30 Under 35, 30 under 35, people, Siemens