1. Harnessing Your Existing Data and Your Team’s Existing Skill Set
Increasingly pressurised I&A leaders can deliver more accurate, faster insights by maximising existing datasets. Whilst 82% of companies currently base decisions on outdated information, AI can reduce data conversion time by 80%, putting insights at the heart of urgent business decisions. However, as a tool still in its infancy, AI’s growing capabilities are chronically underutilised in today’s CMI teams.
Most Chief Insights Officers are only deploying Machine Learning for specific tasks rather than using it strategically. The World Federation of Advertisers reports that just 3% have fully embedded Artificial Intelligence in their current insights practices and processes. The industry’s increasing use of new technologies is rapidly creating new roles and redefining how teams collect and analyse consumer data. As a leader, you don’t need in-depth knowledge of every new piece of tech to apply its potential. Better use of the natural abilities of your in-house team and developing your Gen Z analysts’ native tech skill set makes the best use of the tools already at your disposal.
Jeremy Hollow, Founder & CEO at Listen + Learn Research and ESOMAR Insight 250 winner advises, ‘When technology raises everything up, you can search for the next way of realising value as a primal force of development. We don’t need to be the best thematic analysts in the world because AI is going to do a lot of that for us. Younger people are coming into your organisation who are totally native to emerging technologies: why wouldn’t you use these skills? Founding a culture of openness in your team is paramount for invaluable chances to deepen understanding. Use your team’s skills to answer the question: how do we use existing tools to get to the endpoint faster?’
2. Mobilising Synthetic Data to Deliver More Value from Research
JT explores, ‘We want the elegance and engaging stories of a well-designed qualitative experience at the scale of quantitative research. Better consumer understanding means a blend of synthetic and natural data. We need to find ways of training models alongside reality, collecting real-time consumer feedback and experiences to transition to the AI-powered future.’
Gartner estimates that by 2026, 3 in 4 companies will use synthetic consumer data to reduce research costs and scale data collection. The Chief Insights Officer of the future must develop the ability to construct synthetic data sets – and implement them effectively – to avoid falling behind the competition.
Lenny Murphy, Chief Advisor for Insights and Development at GreenBook, discloses why synthetic data skills enhance the role of the I&A leader in delivering more accurate insights: ‘We can look for outliers in other ways by reallocating our budgets to get help from AI. Prioritising agile automation fundamentally changes the structure and flow of research for the better. Instead of just using trackers to see whether we’re going in the right direction, the most impactful I&A leaders will shift their budget into more strategic places to generate the aha moments.’
CEO of Fairgen and PhD Research Scientist Samuel Cohen explains why insights leaders need knowledge of synthetic data to boost niche audience understanding: ‘The US election results reflected the problems of our fragmented media ecosystem. Specific populations aren’t answering surveys, and without a significant body of research we couldn’t accurately predict outcomes. It’s statistically impossible to boost global results with synthetic data, but you can boost niches. Think about synthetic sampling as a way to simulate the world, based on some parameters. AI unlocks the ability to synthesise, to predict consumer actions without ever asking a question.
‘I don’t believe in replacement: I only believe in augmentation. When testing a novel breakthrough product or determining what’s really driving a fundamental change in behaviour, we can use some variation of what we’re tracking and substitute with a purely synthetic sample. When properly trained, LLM-based models give a lot more accurate, deeper insights on niche audiences to get new ideas and craft new concepts at early design stages, cheaply and fast.’
Karen Murphy, Board Member at the Insights Career Network, illustrates why the ability to work with synthetic data partners is an essential skill for the future insights leader: ‘Synthetic data generation is making the hypothetical reality. Digital twin modelling can test reactions from synthetic audiences and forecast outcomes in advance of making changes. But the deeper and more specific you get, the more synthetic data loses efficacy. Effective early hypothesis testing requires partner collaboration to custom-build a synthetic data set for specific business issues, based on human observations and human attitudes. All partner conversations should be around building a more robust sample without the expense, to inform accurate AI personas. Applying AI to our existing data with the right partners makes primary research more iterative, filling the missing gaps to unlock new revenue streams.’
3. The Curiosity to Find New Solutions to Prevalent Problems
Data, analytics and research recruiter Elizabeth Norman reveals why curiosity is the number one skill driving the future insights career path. ‘The skills that we’re going to be looking for in the next 10 years will change dramatically, but the challenge will remain the same. I&A leaders must act as strategic visionaries, data analysts, storytellers, IT experts and more. Curiosity is the heart of insight. Insight is all about finding that one crucial piece of information that can change everything. This requires more than just technical skills; it means a unique ability to see data differently.’
Christina Furlong, Global Insights Manager at Kerry and Insights250 winner 2024 believes that curiosity is pivotal in the I&A career path. ‘We need to be generalists with exposure to many areas of research and fundamentally understand the methodologies and approaches – whether we’re the ones executing the research or not. That means always having a strategic and commercial hat on about the impact of the insight we are creating. The researcher’s dream is that AI will transform the thankless grunt work we do, and we will have more time for deep insights. However, technology is just an enabler; the reality will be more iterative in how it changes day-to-day tasks. Carve out time for the more important tasks now, don’t wait for the change to happen! Ultimately curiosity and problem-solving are at the core of being successful.’
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt specifies, ‘AI can help you harvest what you’ve already sown and hunt for new opportunities simultaneously, but it requires an entrepreneurial mindset. Human expertise is better placed to inform contextual recommendations from A/B testing at the end stage of data analysis, so your system learns recursively from human training. Critical thinking is vital in data and analytics because AI will produce imperfect information. You have a responsibility to make sure what you’re repeating is true.’
Michael Swaisland, Global Head of Insight and Analytics at Arla Foods enthuses, ‘Insights and data are tools to unlock future success, but curiosity and a hunger to be better are the fuel to that success.’ Curious leaders are comfortable with feeling uncomfortable. Continuously confronting the limits to your knowledge is the best strategy in learning new ways to use existing data, and experimenting with new solutions to old problems.
4. An Experimental Approach to Scale Innovation
Greg Pharo, Senior Global Director of Holistic Communications & Marketing Effectiveness at The Coca-Cola Company states, ‘Everything in our category is happening faster than ever before, but there’s also more clutter out there than ever before. When combining a variety of different data sources, you have to have an experimental approach – when to proceed, what to cut – before being able to scale up.’
Former Cint CEO Giles Palmer explains, ‘Markets are conversations, meaning conversations are markets. There are ways to ask questions other than surveys. I&A leaders who adopt a questioning mindset can have genuine, direct conversations with consumers. A more interesting, respondent-friendly methodology gets better responses, drives better insights and informs better consumer decisions.
‘AI is the first technology humans have ever built that can both create things and make decisions independently. We’re walking towards an existential crisis: AI is less like a computer and more like a personal assistant. When your PA gets better at your job than you, what is your value? We have all the data, but there’s a story missing. I&A leaders with a questioning mindset can construct a customer maturity model that joins CRM data, research and competitive intelligence and applies it within the consumer story.’
5. Storytelling to Collaborate Across Functions
JT believes, ‘We like to make things complicated so we’re the experts in our own data. It’s our job to make our data more available and translate it.’ The average business function wastes 12 hours per week searching for information across multiple systems, with siloed data missing 30% of annual revenue growth opportunities.
Significant Insights Global 30 Under 30 Honoree Erin McQuitty, Senior CX Researcher at Gymshark divulges, ‘The first time I presented the results from a shiny new brand tracker, I failed to emphasise the crucial ‘so whats’. I delivered a presentation packed with numbers that didn’t mean an awful lot. I learnt the power of storytelling: crafting a narrative that not only brings the data to life but drives meaningful action.
‘I discovered the value of collaborating across the wider business, to add colour and context to the data and tell a holistic story about consumer behaviour. My advice is: get day-to-day exposure to other teams to see how research and insights fit the broader business context and tap into expertise from peers. Spend time listening to what makes your stakeholders tick, to tell an impactful story that makes them take action.’
Tina Tonielli, Insights and Analytics Lead at Haleon advises, ‘Data tells a story, but only if you ask the right questions. Before any research or analysis, you need to have a solid understanding of the business question. Analytical and methodology mastery are necessary skills, but the real game-changers? Solid business acumen and influencing. Numbers only matter if you can show people how to grow their business with them. That means storytelling, strategic thinking, and building trust that you understand the business opportunity behind the research results.’
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6. Active Listening Skills to Align Insights with Organisational Needs
Holland and Barrett’s Chief Customer Officer Georgina White reveals, ‘On any given day, you’re going into meetings about current trading to the next quarter through to five-year market strategy. Without understanding how an organisation works, the challenges it faces and how it needs to make money, we’ll fail to make an impact.’ Although 65% of business leaders believe consumer insights should be a ‘thought partner’ for the entire organisation, fewer than 1 in 4 feel their insights teams currently serve as such. The place of today’s I&A chief at the decision-making table means communicating like a business leader as well as an analyst.
Nick Graham, Global Head of Insights and Analytics at Mondelez, reports how he elevated the reputation of insights at Board level. ‘You’re always under the gun to go quickly, but solving a problem is about much more than the tool right in front of you. Rather than the insights team coming down from on high and saying, “These are the solutions to make you faster, bigger, better, stronger” actually listen, translate and ladder up what your business units are already doing. Listen to what is really happening to understand the best way you can help. Synthesise your teams’ day-to-day into the business, structure the big problems and work collectively to solve them.’
Christina Furlong discloses, ‘I’ve been lucky to have had great mentors throughout my career. Mentorship is really useful to talk about day-to-day problems, but more importantly mentors can keep you focused on your longer-term goals and help you see the bigger picture. Serving as a mentor for others is an invaluable skill for career and personal development; as leaders, mentorship makes our positions more tangible and relatable.’
Cherie Leonard, Head of North America Insights at Colgate-Palmolive shares, ‘My CMO sat me down and said, ‘If you want to make it to VP, stop making it all about you. If you make other people successful, if you make other people want to work with you and for you, you’ll be more successful.’’ Developing active listening skills increases your personal credibility and influence, to action your recommendations. Crafting your reputation as a trusted leader involves linking every recommendation back to business goals, positioning consumer insights as the proactive identifier of and catalyst for commercial opportunities.
7. Packaging Your Insights to Communicate their Relevance and Value
Jeremy Hollow continues, ‘You can have the best insight in the world, but if you package it in the wrong way, it won’t reach its potential. You’ve got to activate that insight within the audience that you’re working with. That’s about kudos: your ability to help shape a discussion in the room and bring the best out of the people who are receiving what you’re trying to tell them. That is a more deliberative, complex process than just a core skill.’
Daniel Wu, Founder and CEO of Nimbly Research and GreenBook 2025 Future List Honoree concludes, ‘Sometimes we over-strategise: we have this grandiose vision of a beautiful narrative we want to tell. But we’re also researchers: you’ve got to get that feedback. Do your executives really want to read a hundred-page report? Nobody wants to give feedback on something that looks too polished. Whatever you present needs to be really tight: share your insights with your stakeholders in a very raw form. Get out there, get feedback and iterate.’
8. Practising Courage to Develop a Growth Mindset
Dr Liubov Ruchinskaya, Head of Strategy, Analytics & Consumer Planning at Diageo, clarifies why the courage to make mistakes builds a thought leader who drives real change. ‘One of my previous failures was advocating for the launch of a medical toothpaste with cannabis. Without this failure, I wouldn’t have launched the beauty bundle that achieved double-digit growth. Don’t be afraid of mistakes – be afraid of the comfort that hinders your development.’
Insight250 Legend and Global Consumer & Market Insights Director at HEINEKEN Tony Costella confirms: ‘Our role is to ensure the right (and sometimes difficult) questions are asked, not just simply providing answers. Analysis explains what is happening or going to happen, but real insight lies in explaining why. We need to challenge the business to deliver the ‘and’, to meet growth objectives and move closer to our long-term vision.’
Daniel Wu expands, ‘You need to be resilient enough to take feedback and not run away from it. If your stakeholders don’t understand the value or relevancy of your insights to the business, it’s easy to be defensive. Instead think: what is it here that’s valuable to learn? It’s not just about getting feedback once or twice – you’ve got to keep doing it. Be comfortable talking to people, prepare to be rejected and keep refining your messaging. Be persistent, have grit, learn about yourself and grow.’
