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PODCAST

Insights & Innovators Podcast from MRII

The Greenbook Podcast Network

Data and insights have become the required superpowers of growth companies. No matter what peak or trough the economy is in, business leaders need actionable insights to grow markets, engage customers, and make smart strategic decisions. And research professionals need skills and insights to grow their strategic seat at the table. MRII’s Insights & Innovators talks to today’s top experts and innovators to chart a path for the role, the research methods of tomorrow, and the growing importance of the

business marketing

All Episodes

28:44

How Great Insights Teams Make Every Study Count with...

Insights & Innovators Podcast from MRII ·

2026/10/01

The opportunity has never been better for insights teams to earn a meaningful seat at the strategy table by reducing busy work and focusing on the key data that drives decisions. In this episode, Daniel Graff-Radford, CEO, Discuss, joins host Pavi Gupta, Founder, The Insights Exchange, to discuss how researchers can shift from being “traffic cops” to building librarian-like systems that make organizational knowledge accessible and reusable. They explore the risks of partners uploading research into

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35:36

The Redesign of the Insights Industry with Jim Whaley

Insights & Innovators Podcast from MRII ·

2026/09/24

The insights industry isn’t in decline, it’s being redesigned, and AI is accelerating that shift. In this episode, Jim Whaley, CEO OvationMR, joins host Jon Last, President, Sports and Leisure Research Group, to reframe what AI is really disrupting in market research: tasks like fast fielding, charting, and basic summaries, not the core purpose of insight. They explore why organizations confuse activity with value, how the “kindergarten” moment of AI creates excitement and anxiety, and why fluent

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27:25

Agentic Shopping and AI-Mediated Consumer Behavior...

Insights & Innovators Podcast from MRII ·

2026/09/17

When AI agents can research products in depth and make tailored recommendations, the traditional role of brand as a trust shortcut may shrink. In this episode, Steve Phillips, Founder, Chair and Chief Innovation Officer at Zappi, joins host Niels Schillewaert, Head of Research, Conveo.ai, to unpack “agentic shopping” and how AI-mediated decisions could reshape marketing and insights. Steve shares a real example of using Claude to choose a car, frames agent-driven choice as “system three” (system two

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30:52

Key Consumer Attitudes Toward AI with Idil Cakim

Insights & Innovators Podcast from MRII ·

2026/09/03

Four out of five US adults don’t trust an AI-generated ad, AI-driven product, or service, and that gap between business adoption and consumer acceptance is growing. In this episode, Idil Cakim, Founder & CEO, Iris Flex, joins host Jon Last, President, Sports and Leisure Research Group, to unpack what brands often miss about consumer attitudes toward AI. They discuss why AI usage doesn’t always equal trust, how gender and age shape adoption, and Idil’s AI Proximity framework (exposure, control,

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37:52

AI-Empowered Insights: Charting a Course as a...

Insights & Innovators Podcast from MRII ·

2026/08/27

The old “commission research, present findings, move on” model is breaking as growth fragments, media splinters, and AI accelerate decisions. Ricardo Dalmas, Global VP of Insights & Analytics at Kimberly-Clark, joins host Nick Graham, Founder of Vertemis, to explain why insights must shift from calibration and testing toward defining strategic growth choices: where to play and how to win. They discuss balancing scale with precision, listening and observing behavior before asking survey

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30:27

Policy Shifts, Governance, and Trust in AI with...

Insights & Innovators Podcast from MRII ·

2026/08/20

The organizations that will lead with AI are those that balance privacy and utility through transparency about methods, limitations, and responsibilities across the data cycle. In this episode, Arundati Dandapani, Founder & CEO, Generation1.ca, joins host Zontziry “Z” Johnson, Founder, MRXplorer, to discuss how fast-changing global AI regulation is reshaping governance for insights teams. They explore why global policy matters even for local organizations, including cross-border privacy,

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36:03

People Tell AI Things They Won’t Tell Researchers...

Insights & Innovators Podcast from MRII ·

2026/08/06

Why do people often open up more to an AI moderator than to a human researcher? In this episode, Nick Graham (Founder, Vertemis) speaks with Alfred Wahlforss, CEO and Co-Founder of Listen Labs, about how AI is reshaping qualitative research from analysis into moderation and digital twins. Alfred shares how Listen Labs uses AI to conduct, moderate, and synthesize interviews in hours, what’s driving faster adoption inside insights teams, and why “research slop” makes responsible deployment critical

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27:15

Beyond the Hype: Real Evidence from AI-Moderated...

Insights & Innovators Podcast from MRII ·

2026/07/30

A human connection may build more rapport, but it may not change what people disclose. In this episode, host Zontziry “Z” Johnson, Founder of MRXplorer, talks with Matteo Cera, CEO, Glaut, about independent studies testing AI-moderated interviews against human-moderated interviews and traditional surveys. They unpack biometric findings from Curtin University on comfort, stress, and disclosure, plus controlled experiments from the University of Mannheim and Human Highway showing longer, more varied

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29:20

Building Human Connections in the Era of AI with...

Insights & Innovators Podcast from MRII ·

2026/07/23

If everything becomes perfectly optimized, it all starts to look the same, and that’s where brand building dies. In this episode, Nick Graham, Founder of Vertemis, speaks with Stacy Taffet, Chief Growth Officer at The Hershey Company, about keeping marketing and insights deeply human in an AI-shaped world. They discuss why true consumer centricity is about understanding the “why,” not just dashboards; how insights teams can shift from reporting to shaping decisions through synthesis and conviction;

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31:56

Trust But Verify: Validating AI in the Insights...

Insights & Innovators Podcast from MRII ·

2026/07/09

In this Insights and Innovators Podcast episode, host Niels Schillewaert (Head of Research, Conveo.ai) speaks with Christopher Barnes, President of Escalent, about how market research organizations are approaching AI, why many fail to rigorously validate AI outputs, and how persuasive, energy-efficient model changes can increase risk. Barnes argues insights teams must become “insights and action” professionals, tighten the distance between findings and business impact, and adopt strong validation

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33:59

Beyond the Hype: Making AI Work in Insights with...

Insights & Innovators Podcast from MRII ·

2026/07/02

Most AI projects fail when teams treat AI like a plug-in tool instead of a fully integrated system embedded in real workflows. In this episode, Nick Graham, Founder of Vertemis, speaks with Pankaj Chopra, VP & head of Data, Analytics & AI at Edgewell Personal Care, about the biggest myths in AI for insights and why pilots often never scale. They unpack what it takes to move from ad hoc experimentation to measurable business impact, including starting with clear business questions, building a

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28:45

How Can Insights Agencies Grow and Become...

Insights & Innovators Podcast from MRII ·

2026/06/25

“If we can’t demonstrate our value, we may not deserve to exist.” Paul Griffiths, Founder, Client Advocates, joins host Nick Graham, Founder, Vertemis, to unpack what insights agencies must do to grow in a disrupted market. They discuss why agencies often sell process over commercial outcomes, and how competitors like consultancies win by linking research to decision confidence and business impact. Paul argues the biggest growth opportunity is in the gaps between projects through consistent,

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40:23

How Biases and Blindspots Block Great Marketing with...

Insights & Innovators Podcast from MRII ·

2026/06/11

Some of the biggest barriers to great marketing aren’t in consumers’ minds, but in marketers’ own blind spots and biases. In this episode, Nick Graham, Founder, Vertemis, speaks with Roger Jackson, CEO, Shopper Intelligence and Dr. Tim Holmes, Neuroscientist, Researcher, and Author, about their book The Nursery Rhyme Conundrum and why we routinely overestimate how clearly we communicate. They explore why teams default to safe, forgettable work, how “being nice” and groupthink weaken feedback, and

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27:58

How to Manage Culture with Tara Marotti

Insights & Innovators Podcast from MRII ·

2026/06/04

Culture won’t move at the speed of strategy, so leaders have to back up the message with consistent actions. In this episode, Jon Last, President, Sports and Leisure Research Group, talks with Tara Marotti, President & CEO, Burke Inc., about leading a 95-year legacy organization through rapid change as it evolves into a global, data-driven consultancy. Tara shares how AI, client budget pressure, and faster decision cycles are reshaping the insights industry, and why leadership alignment and a

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32:16

Burning Bright Without Burning Out with Jing Mertoglu

Insights & Innovators Podcast from MRII ·

2026/05/28

Energy is “oxygen for leadership,” and it’s a choice you make in every interaction. Jing Mertoglu, Global VP Insights and Analytics, Suntory Global Spirits, joins host Nick Graham, Founder, Vertemis, to talk about burning bright without burning out. They explore heliotropic leadership and why teams naturally gravitate toward leaders who bring light rather than drain it, even during tough conversations. Jing shares practical ways to deliver difficult feedback with empathy and preparation, build trust

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29:31

The New Research Architecture with Carol Haney

Insights & Innovators Podcast from MRII ·

2026/05/14

“Don’t let AI make you stupid” is the warning at the center of this conversation about how research is changing. Carol Haney, Head of Data Science, Statistics & Research at Qualtrics, joins host Niels Schillewaert, Head of Research at Conveo.ai, to discuss whether declining survey response rates signal a temporary dip or a structural shift in market research and CX. They cover practical survey fundamentals (shorter surveys, fewer “kitchen sink” questions, and consistent follow-up on open ends),

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32:06

How To Turn Insights Into Real Business Impact with...

Insights & Innovators Podcast from MRII ·

2026/05/07

If your insights are only “interesting,” they can easily get ignored, so start with the business choice you’re trying to influence. In this episode, Nick Graham, Founder, Vertemis, talks with Elizabeth Oates, VP Consumer Insights, Molson Coors Beverage Company, about turning research into action and building insights functions that drive decisions. Elizabeth shares the moment that led her to write More Than Just Interesting and explains how to reframe requests by asking: what action is being

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27:20

How Insights Drive Disruption with Vineet Mehra

Insights & Innovators Podcast from MRII ·

2026/04/30

“Today is the worst AI we’ll ever have,” and that shift is rewriting what insights teams must deliver. In this episode, Vineet Mehra, Chief Growth & Marketing Officer, Chime, joins host Nick Graham, Founder, Vertemis, to discuss what the C-suite values most from insights: not reporting, but synthesis that connects product value to real human needs. Vineet shares how Chime used segmentation, ethnographic research, and jobs-to-be-done to build product-market fit and a brand platform, including a

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34:52

How to Build the Insight Edge with Vivek Banerji

Insights & Innovators Podcast from MRII ·

2026/04/16

More information doesn’t automatically lead to better insights, and the relationship between data and insight is nonlinear. Vivek Banerji, Author & Founder, Insight Dojo, joins host Niels Schillewaert, Head of Research, Conveo.ai, to unpack why organizations often conflate insight with information and stay “data rich but insights poor.” They discuss what leaders and insights teams miss most often: clearly defining the real problem, acknowledging uncertainty, and avoiding the trap of confirming

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43:55

Stop Shipping Decks, Start Shipping Decisions with...

Insights & Innovators Podcast from MRII ·

2026/04/09

What we deliver isn’t insights or models, it’s growth ideas and better business decisions. Oksana Sobol, Vice President, Insights and Decision Intelligence, The Clorox Company, joins host Nick Graham, Founder, Vertemis, to explain how expectations for insights and analytics are shifting as organizations become faster, flatter, and more AI-enabled. They discuss moving from a “function” to an always-on capability embedded across the business, reallocating effort toward problem shaping and activation,

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