AI: Powering-Up Insights Conference 2026

Dr. Guillaume Aimetti, Co-founder and CTO, Inspirient GmbH
Dr. Guillaume Aimetti is co-founder of Inspirient aÄì an analytics platform that uses AI to analyse quantitative survey data at scale. Guillaume holds a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Sheffield and has previously advised multi-national companies on IT strategies and implementation as a management consultant at Deloitte.

Pooja Amin, Industry + Off Highway Insight Lead, Shell
Pooja has spent over 15 years working in research across diverse industries both agency and client side, with some time spent working in India.
Her career spans health, telecommunications, digital, and oil, where she consistently aimed to champion the voice of the customer to influence business decisions.  She began her career as an assistant psychologist and has a published research paper.
Pooja has spent many years working in Telecoms, in insight roles spanning B2C and B2B, supporting some decent product launches.
Currently, Pooja manages the global insight agenda across lubricant stakeholders, working across brand, product, and services, whilst dabbling in AI.

Matthew Bickham, Head of Insight, E.ON Next
Matthew Bickham is an experienced insight leader with a strong track record in market research and customer experience. As Head of Insight at E.ON Next, he brings expertise in statistical and market analysis, turning complex data into strategies that drive impact. With senior roles at AXA, BT, Wasserman, and GfK, Matt has led teams, influenced C-suite decision-making, and delivered actionable insights across energy, telecoms, financial services, and sports marketing. Passionate about putting the customer voice at the heart of strategy, he combines analytical rigour with commercial understanding to create meaningful change.

Dylan Brownsword, Head of Marketing Research, Bumble

Matteo Cera, CEO, Glaut
Matteo Cera is the CEO and co-founder of Glaut, an AI-native Market Research Platform for experienced researchers. Since 2023, Glaut has pioneered AIMIs, a hybrid data collection methodology based on AI-moderated voice interviews, in +50 languages. Glaut software allows researchers to program and run large-scale research projects, and analyze qual insights at scale. With over 15 years experience in tech, Matteo began his career at McKinsey & Company and graduated summa cum laude from Bocconi University.

Ramona Daniel, Cultural Insights & Strategy, Twenty3
Ramona Daniel is a cultural insights and strategy consultant who brings cultural intelligence to quantitative research. She works with brands and agencies who need their data culturally literate and teaches teams how to use AI without outsourcing thinking: where it helps, where it hinders, and how to tell the difference. Before going independent, Ramona spent over two decades at Ipsos, Kantar, and across WPP.

Ross Denton, Research Director, STRAT7
Ross is a Research Director at STRAT7 Jigsaw with over 10 yearsaÄô experience in international research. He is the AI Champion at his agency, overseeing staff training and solution implementation.
He has a close interest in the tension between AI efficiency and representation. He has presented at conferences on the considerations for AI analysis when conducting research on culturally sensitive topic areas.

Kate Eden, Insight Manager for Formats and Operations, Co-op

Molly Hilton, Research Analyst, Co-op
Molly brings a rich blend of agency and client-side experience to her role at Co-op, having previously delivered impactful insight at Vita Student and Mustard Research. Now embedded within Co-opaÄôs insight team, she works across food, life services, and membership, championing the voice of customers and members to shape strategic decisions. Known for her curiosity and forward-thinking mindset, Molly is currently leading exploration into the use of synthetic data; pushing the boundaries of how Co-op can evolve its research practice to be more agile, inclusive, and future-ready.

Ian Holt, HDEO and Fleet Insight Lead, Shell
Ian Holt is an award-winning insight specialist with global experience across four continents. He has built multiple high-performing insight teams and led strategic research initiatives in brand tracking, innovation, and customer experience. Ian has worked across financial services, FMCG, energy, hospitality, and retail sectors, consistently translating complex data into actionable strategies. More importantly, he loves trucks and spends most days talking about them. He is aware he really should get out more.

Alexandra Kuzmina, Innovation Director: Discovery, MMR Research Worldwide
Alexandra Kuzmina is an award-winning mixed-methods researcher, futurist, and early adopter of emerging technologies. Alexandra leads innovation initiatives that explore and pressure-test cutting-edge tools. Currently heading the Discovery stream within MMRaÄôs NOVA tech innovation team, Alexandra partners with global CPG brands to pilot AI-driven solutions that transform product development and consumer understanding. She is a sought-after voice on the future of research, behavioural science, and the role of AI in shaping product experience insights.

Michalis A. Michael, Founder & CEO, Listening247
Michalis is the founder and CEO of listening247 by DigitalMR Ltd., a London-based tech company specializing in artificial intelligence for unstructured data analytics, research, and Ad creation. He has garnered multiple prestigious awards and is recognized as an influential figure in the industry.
Michalis has authored numerous eBooks and articles that have contributed to the advancement of using AI in market research, customer experience management (CXM), social listening and analytics, text and image analytics, and the establishment of online communities for brands. His first book: AI Powered Insights will be published in early 2026 by Routledge (Taylor & Francis Group New York).
Educated at T.U. Berlin, where he earned a master’s degree in aerospace engineering, Michalis supplemented his technical education with business training at Harvard Business School and London Business School. He has had the privilege of living and working in various countries, including the USA, UK, Germany, Poland, Hungary and Cyprus.
Prior to his entrepreneurial journey, Michalis held a role as a corporate executive in market research, serving as the Synovate Managing Director of CEE and EVP - Head of the first global online research division of Synovate out of Chicago.

Anne Motan, Special Advisor, JAB Pet Services

Sophie Read, Innovation Insights Manager, HEINEKEN UK
Sophie Read is a passionate advocate for turning consumer insight into meaningful business impact. With a proven track record of driving growth for both established and emerging brands, Sophie excels at inspiring stakeholders and shaping strategic decisions through the voice of the shopper.

Hasdeep Sethi, Group AI Lead, STRAT7
Hasdeep is Group AI Lead and a Data Science Director at STRAT7. He helps to head up STRAT7aÄôs AI Innovation Lab, which is responsible for building AI solutions, curating an AI partner network and shaping STRAT7aÄôs external view on AI. He has over 10 yearsaÄô experience in AI and data science. 
He has a particular interest in using AI to activate market research in an ethical and enterprise secure way. He helped to co-author two synthetic data studies, presented at two MRS Conferences in 2025.

Jessica Shakespeare, Director, Human8
Jessica is a Research Director at Human8 with 17 yearsaÄô experience in insights, both agency and client side, spanning a broad mix of sectors and methodologies. In her 9 years at Human8, much of JessicaaÄôs client work has been with long-term insight communities for a number of UK and global clients, with a particular focus on clients in the FMCG, retail and shopper space.

George Tipping, Lead Data Scientist, ITV
George is Lead Data Scientist at ITV. With an extensive background in Data Science, George leads the technical delivery of AI projects across the data science team.

Veronica Valli, Head of Research, Glaut
Veronica Valli is Head of Research at Glaut, where she leads projects to validate the AIMI methodology with a strong focus on how artificial intelligence is shaping consumer experiences and perceptions. Building on qualitative and quantitative approaches,

Edward Vargeson, Business Director, Verve
Ed Vargeson is a seasoned market researcher with 18 years of experience helping brands turn data into decisions. Passionate about delivering impactful insights at pace, he has guided strategy for leading organizations including E.ON Next, Compare the Market and Barclays. Known for translating complex consumer trends into clear, actionable narratives, Ed empowers businesses to navigate change with confidence and impact.

Aaron Walker, Data Scientist, ITV

Adrien Louis Weinert, Head of AI research, Firefish
Adrien is Head of AI at Firefish, where he focuses on bringing the speed and scale of technology into qualitative research without losing the richness, rigour and human depth that make it meaningful. His work is about reimagining how we harness AI to complement, not replace, the craft of qual. Adrien builds approaches that allow us to capture insight at scale, benchmark impact and uncover the subtle human truths that drive behaviour. By fusing advanced AI tools with strategic research thinking, he helps clients unlock faster, smarter and more authentic ways to understand and connect with people.