Today is the last chance to nominate for 2023

Today is the last chance to nominate someone (or yourself) for the 2023 ESOMAR Insight250 industry awards – the leading global awards for the sector. As today is Valentine’s Day take the opportunity to “share some love” for yourself, a colleague, a supplier or client and go to insight250.com/nominate and nominate those you see as leaders and innovators within our sector. 

Over 30 market research experts have recently been selected as Judges for the 2023 Insight250 Awards, spotlighting leaders and innovators across market research, consumer insights, and data-driven marketing worldwide. These judges hail from 17 nations across six continents and represent academia, enterprises, agencies, and associations. Approximately 40 percent previously received the Insight250 award, and about 80 percent served as Judges last year. 

Mark Langsford, CEO of mTab, and Kristin Luck, ESOMAR President, will again chair the panel, and when I spoke to Kristin earlier this month, she emphasised: 

“We’re excited for ESOMAR and our Country Representatives to continue to play such an important role in the Insight250 selection process. Having these Representatives oversee nominations in their respective countries will ensure that we are reviewing as many leaders and innovators around the globe as possible for consideration. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are key pillars of ESOMAR's growth strategy and further elevate, honours, and celebrate the accomplishments of so many exceptional individuals across our industry and around the globe.” 

Given the judges' diverse experiences and insight, I spoke with several of them to get their thoughts and perspectives on a few different topics around Insight250. This feature includes ideas from several more judges on the impact and traits they seek when selecting an Insight250 Winner. Read Part 1 of the series here. Hopefully these “top-tips” will help in any nominations you make. 

Question 1 - The Insight250 Awards highlight market research leaders and innovators from around the world. In your view, what are the key drivers of successful leadership and innovation? 

Dangjaithawin Anatachai, COO, INTAGE, Thailand
“The best leadership is not to lead, but to get people working together to shape their own future including both organization and self-future.”

Kudzai Guvi, Senior Research & Insights Lead, Standard Bank Group, South Africa
“Successful leadership and innovation have to do with relentlessly providing the platform and curiosity for others to succeed. It encompasses being selfless and empathetic to those around you in a manner that cultivates a sense of purpose and belonging in seeking to identify that illuminating insight. This is a world filled with voluminous data.”

Jean-Marc Léger, Président / PDG Leader Nord-américain, ESOMAR, Canada

“I have learned over the years that the best innovation is not necessarily the best technology/methodology but the technology/methodology that the client will buy. And it’s not always the same thing. A great innovation leader will listen to the market, seize the opportunity and invent a solution that meets clients' needs.” 

Mark Langsfled, CEO, mTab, United States

“I generally think that great leadership requires great innovation, and great innovation requires great leadership. The best innovators see opportunities and take the lead in devising solutions that create value and success. Similarly, great leaders see where they can create enhancements for their organizations, markets, products, and employees. So these two dimensions often drive each other and go hand-in-hand towards success.”

Arundati Dandapani, MLITT, CAIP, CIPP/C, Founder, Generation1.ca, Canada

“The ability to adapt and evolve continuously, learn from others, and be the bridge between knowledge and action, and data and insights, by teaching what you know and learnt as frequently and widely as possible.”

Ande Gilmartin (née Milinyte), Senior Research Manager, Opinium, UK

“When it comes to leadership, I think it’s about bringing awareness, empathy, and communication. Having awareness is an important starting point. It combines being aware of your vision, having self-awareness, and keeping a finger on the pulse of your team, your organisation, and the broader industry. Secondly, empathy is a crucial skill for leaders who need to be able to listen and understand, identify people’s strengths and weaknesses, and be inclusive. It all ties together through effective communication, with an effective leader bringing people together by communicating the shared vision, defining clear goals and therefore being able to inspire and empower people to work towards them while ensuring their input is valued and recognised. 

“From the perspective of achieving success with innovation, I think it all starts with a sense of curiosity. You have to be unafraid to ask questions, even if they’re difficult ones, to (gently) challenge existing practices, and beliefs, and certainly to challenge yourself – I truly believe that is the catalyst for innovation. While curiosity kickstarts innovation, it’s also important to constantly reflect on your ideas and allow them to evolve, taking a flexible approach instead of fixating on a specific idea. It’s also crucial that an innovator sets clear goals and is result-oriented, as ideas alone won’t necessarily result in an innovative outcome. Finally, I think a true innovator is resilient: they are brave and open to challenges while being aware of their weaknesses and accepting where they might need to ask for help. I think someone who masters these traits maximises their chances of success.”

Alejandro Garnica, Consultant, Mexico 

"Leadership and innovation are two territories to which powerful a powerful bridge could unite: Teamwork. There can be innovation and even leadership in a soloist; that is possible, but not frequent. In any human activity, success in both aspects is the result of the collective action of a group of people, collaborating and correcting each other.

Not every collaboration is innovative, but almost all innovation comes from collaboration"

Patricio Pagani, Founder & Lead Puma, Black Puma, Argentina

"There are many important key leadership drivers of successful leadership. However one that I want to highlight is:

Successful leaders have stopped trying to predict what’s going to happen to their markets in the future. Innovative leaders design their future, they build it. Their predictive capabilities become 100% effective, because they create the world/market they want their organization to operate in."

Question 2 - As a Judge, what are some of the primary traits you consider most important for an Insight250 Winner?

Dangjaithawin Anatachai, COO, INTAGE, Thailand
“The ability to create more leaders, not followers.”

Kudzai Guvi, Senior Research & Insights Lead, Standard Bank Group, South Africa
“Breadth and depth in their areas(s) of specialisation and the extent to which they show collaborative efforts across diverse industries or networks. Furthermore, they need to drive innovation that contributes to keeping the market research industry relevant.”

Jean-Marc Léger, Président / PDG Leader Nord-américain, ESOMAR, Canada

“The impact that innovation can have not only on the company but more importantly, on the entire marketing research industry. For example, everyone talks about AI but few research marketers have found ways to take advantage of and transform our profession. Whoever finds it will be a true innovator.”

Mark Langsfled, CEO, mTab, United States

“For me, it really comes down to impact. What kind of impact is the individual making on their team, their organization, their markets, their consumers and the industry as a whole. This can come in all sorts of different forms. Some are focused on enhancing methodologies or developing technology advancements; others are changing how we look at research or educating the next generation of insight experts. That is the beauty of the Insight250. There is no single dimension or box that the award looks to check. This leaves it wide open to have incredible diversity in expertise and impact that these awards celebrate around the world.” 

Arundati Dandapani, MLITT, CAIP, CIPP/C, Founder, Generation1.ca, Canada

“Fearless, diligent, trusted advisors and data leaders who can effectively deliver impact to society, businesses, and future generations of leaders.”

Ande Gilmartin (née Milinyte), Senior Research Manager, Opinium, UK

“Like my fellow judges, I will be of course looking for someone who can demonstrate professional credentials and accomplishments, contributions to publications, and sustained involvement in the industry. But what will really set nominees apart for me will be evidence of using insights and innovation to enact change and make society better. I’m interested to see how nominees have demonstrated leadership when it comes to diversity & inclusion, sustainability, development and wellbeing, among other societal aspects. I’m looking for people who step beyond innovation for innovation’s sake – I am excited to learn how it’s been applied to better insights and the broader industry.” 

Alejandro Garnica, Consultant, Mexico

The good researcher is an individual with an insatiable curiosity, but also a great humbleness to criticize what has been learned, unlearn what is necessary, and never assume that (s)he already knows everything. At the end of the day, what is sought is to capture, describe and understand the human essence, but always to promote developments and actions that favorably impact the people and the communities in which they live.

Patricio Pagani, Founder & Lead Puma, Black Puma, Argentina

"The ability to make a change in the design of the market/industry that you operate. By bringing new rules, new approaches and make an impact."

Finally, nominations close today, February 14, so nominate now at insight250.com/nominate. Good luck everyone.