By Arundati Dandapani, Founder and CEO, Generation1.ca
Diverse consumer insight leaders have consistently turned to me for actionable examples and proven frameworks to build centers of excellence that drive organizational success. With a strategic vision rooted in both the past and future, I’ve engineered systems that not only propel organizations forward but also redefine the way they operate. From unifying the voice of thousands of employees navigating connectivity challenges, to reshaping entire industry ecosystems disrupted by shifting demographics, I’ve led high-impact initiatives that delivered transformative results at the helm of groundbreaking work in multicultural consumer differentiation, advancing member, employee, and learner-centric outcomes, and setting new standards for research communications that became industry benchmarks.
Taking a leaf of inspiration from Crispin Beale‘s articles often featuring my views alongside other global leaders, I decided to draw into Generation1.ca’s rich pool of supporter expertise and top global talent to dissect what true excellence means to dear colleagues and esteemed supporters of Generation1.ca. The path to excellence is a relentless, ever-evolving journey that consumes passion, innovation, and a deep commitment to growth. My diverse experiences have shaped this understanding that true excellence is built through the strength of knowledge communities—constantly evolving, sharing best practices, and learning from both successes and failures.
To build on the collective wisdom of Generation1.ca members that inspire and intrigue business leaders thrust with bigger responsibilities as times change, I asked top global practitioners a somewhat unwieldy string of questions that they tackled with care: “What does ‘Best in Class’ mean for your Insights and Analytics team? How have you built a center of excellence that delivers insights proactively across your organization? And how do you measure your team’s performance against competitors to ensure continuous improvement and sustained excellence?”
Here are these leaders’ responses:
Dr. Parves Khan, COO, Hiyaacar, UK, and Generation1.ca Spring 2025 Career Fair Guest Panelist,
“For me, that has always involved developing my team to be strategic thinkers. That means getting them to look at any stakeholder problem/pain-point in a way that sees the bigger picture in relation to their specific vertical and impact on wider organization. So instead of immediately responding to a request for analysis or research, thinking first about the ROI of that project to the business, measured against the wider business goals.
It really has been through trial and error! I’ve made mistakes but learned a lot through the process. For example, stakeholders will always say they want more insights. So I get the team to create self-serving analytic dashboards for them, but they then don’t bother using them! It’s so frustrating. I’ve learnt that there’s a big education piece you need to do with stakeholders to build their awareness and confidence in using these tools as well as making them super simple and intuitive.
I can’t say I consciously assess and compare against competitors. I’m less concerned with what others are doing and more concerned with creating an insight function that works best in the organization I’m in. That involves deeply understanding the business, its market, customers and of course your stakeholders. Once I understand what’s needed in terms of the skills of the team and the tools to do our job brilliantly, I work on building those skills and getting the right tools.”
Nick Drew, Founder and CEO, Fuse Insights, UK and Canada, Generation1.ca Career Fair and Case Competition Lifelong Employer and Sponsor,
“In answer to the first question, my guiding principle in any research is ‘what does success look like here?’ and in virtually all cases the answer revolves around non-researchers, and equipping them to tell stories, make decisions, show outcomes and the like. So a best in class insights function, whether external partner or internal team, is one that is absolutely focused on those non-research stakeholders, and ensuring that the research provides what they need. That means understanding and focusing on their business needs, speaking their (non-research) language, and always asking ‘can my non-research stakeholder tell the story of this research in a way that’s correct, compelling and effective?’
And that runs through the answers to the other questions: I assess insights teams based on how well they understand that research’s success is about non-researchers grasping, using and propagating both the findings and why they’re important. At a basic level, that covers how they talk about the results, why they think the results are worth talking about, how they frame the research question and so on. And frankly it encompasses any new approach, technology or solution too, and understanding not just why they’re cool, but what that means for that non-researcher end user.”
Sucheta Jha, Generation1.ca Spring 2025 Case Competition Judge, and Lead Strategy and Insights South Asia, AkzoNobel
“It is important to recognize that ‘best-in-class’ is not an absolute benchmark but a relative and evolving standard—one that must be interpreted within the context of our industry, market dynamics, and the organization’s stage in its data and insights maturity curve. The core idea is to keep improving on consumer centricity in business, and therefore keep improving on the insight and data informed decisions.
My career has been a deliberate journey of building the systems, people capabilities, and influence mechanisms to make this vision of improving a reality. I believe that insights & analytics is a journey where each organization has a different starting point.
Beyond contextual industry benchmarking, we assess our I&A function through capability heatmapping across key pillars like tools, talent, speed-to-insight, and stakeholder impact. We stay current by engaging in cross-industry forums and research partnerships, while internal feedback loops and NPS help us measure relevance and value. A culture of continuous learning ensures we’re not only aligned with best practices but are consistently raising our own internal benchmarks.”
Iryna Lozynska, New Solutions Strategist, HSB Canada, Generation1.ca Spring 2023 Career Fair Guest Panelist and Generation1.ca Fall 2024 Industry Networking Social Guest Panelist
“In my experience, a best-in-class Insights and Analytics function, regardless of its maturity level, available resources, industry it serves, or the breadth and complexity of deployed methodologies, is one focused on producing approachable, actionable and user-centric output. Such output ought to be firmly rooted in a philosophy of stakeholder empathy when it comes to thoughtful needs analysis and speaking the stakeholders’ language, as well as in a practice of continuous education within the organization on how to effectively harness the potential of insights to empower how the business successfully navigates its macroenvironmental landscape. Further, a best-in-class I&A team is consistent in its pursuits toward democratizing access to insights across the organization, demolishing ossified silos, ultimately not shying away from nuancedly shaping the overarching enterprise culture.
Over the course of my career on both the vendor and the client sides of the I&A practice, building bridges and managing expectations have perennially emerged as two career best practices on the path to building an effective I&A function. The former is all about patience, especially when it comes to establishing I&A and market intelligence (MI) functions in organizations unfamiliar with such practices. In such settings, it is critical to situate the benefits and value from market insights squarely into the context of a specific stakeholder’s day-to-day business challenges and personal growth ambitions. In managing expectations, candor plays a central role, as stakeholder curiosity, comfort, and confidence in intelligence output needs to be bolstered by the practitioner’s authenticity and openness about the process, the methodology choice, and realistic timelines.”
Karlien Kriegler, Co-Founder and Director, Hello Ara, South Africa, Generation1.ca Career Fair Guest Panelist and Employer Spring 2025 Career Fair and Case Competition
“In a world overwhelmed by information, constant demands for new AI skills, budgetary pressures and endless distractions, curiosity isn’t always a given. Yet, the most effective Insights and Analytics teams I’ve worked with treat the internal sharing of insights as a core responsibility. They understand the power of timing, context, and delivery—knowing how to land the right insight, in the right way, at the right moment to unlock practical solutions. These teams set high expectations for their partners, insist on depth and clarity, and bring sharp critical thinking to every challenge. I don’t think they necessarily compare themselves to teams in other organizations. Instead, they stay attuned to what’s new and relevant, and continuously challenge their teams to remain curious and keep their skills sharp.”
Enakshi Podder, The Hersheys Company Consumer Insights, Canada
“To me, being ‘Best in Class’ as an Insights & Analytics team means going beyond just delivering data — it’s about being trusted partners who drive real business impact and democratize data access. I always aim to keep a 360-degree view of the business and my ears to the ground, constantly looking for ways to adapt and stay current. When COVID hit, many of us had to pivot fast — being agile, creative, and quick on our feet became key to keeping things moving. That mindset still guides me today. I also benchmark our team’s work against industry leaders and stay connected to trends so we’re always improving. Mistakes happen — absolutely. But they’re also how we learn and grow. I’ve been lucky to work with teams that value efficiency, challenge the status quo, and embrace change. That combination of curiosity, adaptability, and resilience is what will help us stay ahead of the curve.”
Stella Igweamaka, Senior Consultant, New Markets and Opportunities, Servus Credit Union, Canada, Generation1.ca Spring 2023 and Fall 2024 Career Fair Guest Panelist
“To me, ‘Best in Class’ in an Insights & Analytics (I&A) team means being strategic partners and internal consultants—deeply embedded within the business and agile in execution. It’s about building a team that moves beyond reporting to proactively shape decisions, offering foresight rather than just hindsight.
In shaping my own career, I’ve prioritized building centers of excellence grounded in collaboration, ethical integrity, and cultural intelligence. This includes integrating both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies to reflect lived experiences and market trends—especially within underrepresented communities.
To measure effectiveness, I use a combination of industry benchmarks and internal success metrics (e.g. pulse surveys, pre and post execution survey as well as Brand Health Reports and Voice of member survey). including stakeholder impact, and our influence on strategic outcomes.”
Nat Stone, Program Coordinator and Professor, Algonquin College, Marketing Research and Analysis, and former Federal Government employee, Canada and Generation1.ca Lifelong Career Fair and Case Competition Sponsor
“Competition rarely plays a role in government activities, so it’s usually not a consideration. To advance best-in-class practices in public opinion research, the Federal Government’s Public Opinion Research Directorate (PORD), took several steps: convening advisory panels of specialists from the private sector, government, and academia to set research standards, creating a community of practice that meets quarterly to address mutual challenges, launching a monthly speaker series, organizing research courses for government researchers, setting up a library and social media site, distributing a monthly newsletter, publishing an annual research report, and actively participating in industry events and activities including hiring.”
Parissa Poroushani, Founder and CEO Bazaarnegar and Co-Founder and Board Member IMRA, Iran, Generation1.ca Career Fair Guest Panelist and Industry Rep Spring 2025 Career Fair and Case Competition
“Based on our experience working with a wide range of brands in Iran, Insights & Analytics teams are truly “Best in Class” when they play an active role in strategic decision-making rather than being limited to reporting functions. We advise brands to position these teams as strategic partners within the organization—not just support units.
To build a Center of Excellence, we recommend clearly defining the team’s strategic role, establishing regular alignment processes with marketing, product, and leadership teams, and investing in upskilling—particularly in business understanding and data storytelling.
Performance benchmarking against competitors—such as response speed, quality of insights, and market impact—is key. Tools like Brand Health Tracking help evaluate the real-world effectiveness of insights. In more advanced cases, internal feedback systems are also used to gauge how insights influence decisions compared to those from competitors, measuring both internal impact and external relevance.”
So there you have it — a wide range of expertise and perspective around what a best in class insights and analytics function looks like and how to stay competitive in the face of rapid advancements and change both internally and externally. Thank you to all who shared their experience and expertise. As we see, a best-in-class Insights and Analytics function is not just about meeting external benchmarks—it’s about fostering a culture of curiosity, continuous learning, and adaptability. Performance is measured by internal success metrics, stakeholder impact, and the ability to innovate in an ever-changing landscape. These insights reflect the diverse approaches and experiences of leading professionals who prioritize long-term value creation and continuous organizational (and individual) improvement.
