37 questions with Mahara Inglis: MitoQ’s CEO

As you’ll find out in this video, our CEO Mahara Inglis lives quite a multifaceted life. He’s a dad, a cycling enthusiast, a big Elon Musk fan, an avid traveler (pre-COVID) and he speaks multiple languages. To help you get to know him and our company a little better, he recently answered 37 questions – check out his answers below.

Where are we today?

We are in the beautiful Roberta Reserve in Auckland, New Zealand.

What time do you normally wake up?

I normally get up around 5.45 in the morning.

What’s the first thing you do?

First thing I do is I take my MitoQ with a big glass of water.

When did you join MitoQ as CEO?

I joined in March 2020. It was in the middle of the very first lockdown.

What attracted you to MitoQ?

Three things really. First was the game-changing technology. Second was the ability to do something good in the world. And then third was the unrealized potential that MitoQ had to be bold, be different.

What’s it like to become a CEO for the first time?

It’s both the hardest and most rewarding job that you’ll ever have – second maybe to being a parent.

Have you done a lot of travel?

Yeah, prior to COVID I traveled to over 40 countries. So, I’ve been to China multiple times, lived in the US, I’ve even managed to get myself stuck in the jungle in Malaysia and bike down Death Highway in Bolivia.

How many languages do you speak?

I actually speak two. So, I speak English and I speak Māori. In fact, my early childhood schooling was all in Māori. But I’m really hoping to learn Mandarin at some stage.

What were you listening to (during your ride into the office)?

I was actually listening to a McKinsey podcast about disruptive brands in the food industry.

Who inspires you and why?

I’m really inspired by Elon Musk. He’s someone who wants to make a positive difference in the world using technology – and he just gets on and gets things done.

If we ask the MitoCrew what you’re like as a CEO, what are three things you think they’ll say about you?

I think the first would be challenging the status quo. I really look to push the boundaries of technology and biology - ultimately to deliver better results for our customers. Second would be curiosity: I’m always wanting to learn more; be it about science, about technology, about business.

And the third is: down to earth. I just want to be approachable, be friendly, be someone that you can have a beer or a coffee with. I think it’s important as a leader but it’s also just me being me.

Can you tell me a little bit about the rebrand?

Absolutely. So, the first step in our rebrand was really about gathering together all of the customer market insights that we could. And that ensures that our brand is really going to appeal to our customers and be at the forefront of the whole market.

Second is about pulling together our team of global experts. So, we’ve built the team with people from the UK, from China, from the US – even into France and New Zealand.

And the third is about the actual design and the planning that goes into the brand and, ultimately, about taking it to market.

Looking at the old brand versus the new, MitoQ looks completely different. Why did you decide to change?

Well, quite frankly, we looked the same as everyone else – but we’re not. We wanted an opportunity to show just how different we are, to be able to highlight our game-changing technology and really to invite a conversation with people about their cellular health.

How long did the rebrand journey take?

It took just over a year.

Even the logo looks different. What’s so special about it?

Our logo starts with this red hexagon in the middle which really is to represent the positively charged MitoQ molecule and it’s surrounded by the cells on the outside. What the colors throughout show is the positive impact that MitoQ at the center can have on the cells around it.

The side of the box says 37 trillion cells, 1 you. What does that mean?

We’re all made up of roughly 37 trillion cells. So, they really are at the foundation of overall health. We also know that there’s just one you in the world. Our job is to optimize all 37 trillion of those cells so that you can be at your best.

Tell me about the bottle!

The bottle itself is actually inspired by the shape of our MitoQ molecule. You can see in this semi-hexagonal shape in the logo on the top. It’s also designed to be smaller, more sustainable and it fits easily in your pocket, in your hand, in your handbag or laptop bag as well.

In a recent quote you said, “Quite frankly, we looked the same as everyone else – but we’re not the same as everyone else”. Tell us more.

What we wanted to really highlight was, first off, that we’re proven to alleviate cell stress at the foundational level – so everyone can be healthier. Second is that we’re patented. So, no one else has this molecule. We’re not like all the other generics that are out there in the world that you can buy in the market. You can only find MitoQ here with us.

I read a quote: “Many medications have clinical trials behind them – very few supplements do. MitoQ does”. Do you want to tell us a bit more about this?

The point of this is to highlight the huge amount of research and evidence that we have backing up the proof and the effectiveness of our MitoQ molecule. We’ve got over 600 independently published papers, a dozen human clinical trials, with three dozen more in the pipeline. We also have the MitoQ collaborative research program which is working with experts from around the world - Cambridge, Harvard, Oxford – all to push forward the frontiers of what MitoQ can do for your cell health.

Tell us just one more thing you’re planning for MitoQ.

One more thing...well we have many more things planned for MitoQ. One more thing I’d share is we have a really exciting pipeline of new product development coming through which we can’t wait to unleash and share with the world.

Last question: what is your biggest weakness?

(Laughs) I have many weaknesses but the number one would have to be a Cookie Time cookie. They’re my guilty pleasure.