Allegra Spender

Allegra Spender is a Sydney-based businesswoman and political candidate for the 2022 Australian federal election.

Early life[]

Spender attended Ascham School where she was head girl,^[1] and achieved an ATAR of 99.95. She then completed a MA in economics from the University of Cambridge, where she was at Trinity College.^[2][3]

Career[]

Spender started her career as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company, before working as a policy analyst in the U.K. Treasury.^[4]

She was later a volunteer consultant in Kenya for TechnoServe, before working as a Change Leader at London's King's College Hospital.^[5]

In 2007, Spender was a consultant for the Women's Health & Research Centre in Sydney.

From 2008 to 2017,^[6] Spender was Managing Director of Carla Zampatti Pty Ltd,^[7] the company responsible for fashion labels Carla Zampatti and Bianca Spender. The company has over 30 stores and 100 team members.

In January 2022 it was reported that when in charge of her mother's company they failed to file a disclosure about its treatment of women. Spender said that the failure was a clerical error.^[8]

In 2013, Spender also became chair of the board for Sydney Renewable Power Company, a company that installed 520 kilowatts (700 hp) of solar panels on the roof of the International Convention Centre Sydney.^[2][6] She stepped down from that position in 2020.

In 2017, Spender became CEO of the Australian Business and Community Network, a not-for-profit organisation that mentors and trains disadvantaged students.^[3][9] In 2021, the ABCN was ranked one of Australia's most innovative not-for-profit organisations by the Australian Financial Review.^[10]

In addition to her Cambridge University degree, Spender has completed courses at Dartmouth College's Tuck School of Business, the University of London's Birkbeck, and Harvard Business School.

In November 2021 Spender declared that she will run as an independent candidate in the division of Wentworth at the 2022 Australian federal election. She cited government inaction on climate change as one of the key reasons for her candidature.^[11]

Personal life[]

Spender comes from a high profile political family, with both her father and grandfather being members of the Australian House of Representatives and both being posted as ambassadors. Spender is the daughter of former Liberal politician and diplomat John Spender and fashion designer Carla Zampatti. Her grandfather, Sir Percy, was an MP, diplomat and the president of the International Court of Justice. Her grandmother was Lady Jean Spender, who authored crime fiction as J. M. Spender.

She has a half-brother, Alexander Schuman, and a sister, Bianca Spender.

References[]