Inaugural Insight250 Legends Award honours industry titans
Wrapping up the year with 60 global honours.
Earlier this year, the inaugural Insight250 Legends honour was announced at the 2023 ESOMAR Congress in Amsterdam. For the past three years, the original Insight250 has been an annual award honouring 250 professionals worldwide who are global leaders and innovators in research, insights, and data-driven marketing.
The inaugural Insight250 Legends are insight industry experts who have made a long-standing, indelible impact on the industry and beyond through innovation, leadership, commitment, or other contributions. You can see the entire list of honorees at Insight250.com/Legends. These Inaugural 60 Legends come from enterprises, agencies, associations and academia. They include CEOs, Professors, Founders, and CMOs, and represent multiple sectors and countries.
As Kristin Luck, Insight250 Co-Chair, said, “Over the past three years, the Insight250 has honoured hundreds of experts and innovators; some of these professionals have also become Judges. These individuals have made tremendous impacts on the insight industry. We thought an even higher honour would be appropriate for them to show appreciation for their tireless work and honour their innovation. So, this Legends honour reveres those who have made these legendary contributions.”
A combination of industry votes and committee perspectives was instrumental in selecting the inaugural Insight250 Legends honorees. Nearly 20,000 votes from industry professionals worldwide were instrumental, serving as 95% of the decision criteria in naming the 60 inaugural Insight250 Legends. These titans of our profession are insight industry experts who are recognised for making a long-standing, indelible impact on the industry and beyond through innovation, leadership, commitment, or other contributions.
As Joaquim Bretcha, Director General at ESOMAR, explained, "In the world of insights and market research, recognising talent is essential for industry growth and innovation. The Insight250 Legends, with their commitment, innovation, and leadership, represent individuals who have made a lasting impact. By honouring these individuals, we emphasise the importance of nurturing talent, contributing to ongoing excellence in the evolving realm of insights.”
Individuals honoured as Insight250 Legends will no longer be eligible for the annual Insight250 award; however, they may still serve as a Judge to help select the annual honour and will remain Legends in perpetuity..This frees up places in the annual awards to recognise new talent around the globe and ensure the Insight250 awards remain the most diverse and inclusive global awards in our profession.
Mark Langsfeld discussed the importance of industry engagement for these honours, saying, “We want these to be industry-focused awards that honour individuals in insights, marketing, and market research, while also engaging and including professionals from insights communities worldwide.
“With the original Insight250 awards, we engaged the industry with open nominations, allowing anyone to submit their candidates. With the Legends honour, we decided to have an open industry vote. Incredibly, we received upwards of 20,000 votes in just a few weeks, which were instrumental in the selection process of these Legends. So, thank you to everyone who participated in the voting process.
“This sheer number of votes greatly illustrates how engaged and supportive insights professionals are of their colleagues and the industry worldwide. So, we’re very excited.”
Nominations for the 2024 Insight250 awards are now open at insight250.com/nominate, so be sure to submit your nominees for one of the insight industry’s most prestigious and revered honours. The 2024 Awards will again be judged by a worldwide panel of 36 judges from enterprises, agencies, associations and academia - all around the globe. The 2024 international judging jury will be announced in the New Year and will again be chaired by industry heavyweights Kristin Luck and Mark Langsfeld.
Congratulations to all 60 of the inaugural Insight250 Legends, and good luck to everyone entering the 2024 Insight250 Awards.
Crispin Beale
Senior Strategic Advisor at mTab, CEO at Insight250, Group President at BehaviorallyCrispin Beale is a marketing, data and customer experience expert. Crispin spent over a decade on the Executive Management Board of Chime Communications as Group CEO of leading brands such as Opinion Leader, Brand Democracy, Facts International and Watermelon. Prior to this Crispin held senior marketing and insight roles at BT, Royal Mail Group and Dixons. Crispin originally qualified as a chartered accountant and moved into management consultancy with Coopers & Lybrand (PwC). Crispin has been a Board Director (and Chairman) of the MRS for c15 years and UK ESOMAR Representative for c10 years. As well as being CEO of Insight250, Crispin is currently Group President of Behaviorally with responsibility for the client and commercial teams globally and the Senior Strategic Advisor at mTab.
