Client Conference 2026

09.00

Registration

09.35

Welcome from Jane Frost CBE, CEO, MRS

09.45

Extended opening address from the Chair

Nick Rich, Co-Founder & Partner, Growth Constructors

10.00

Insight transformation in motion

NatWest & BT share their transformation journeys and provide practical guidance on how to evolve your insight function, redefine the insight professional’s role and make insight more integral to better customer and commercial outcomes.

Re-imaging the future of customer insight

This session explores how client-side insight functions can evolve from producing research outputs to actively shaping business decisions. Using NatWest’s customer intelligence transformation as a practical case study, it shows how insight can move beyond surveys, dashboards and reports to become a connected decision-intelligence capability. It examines the shift towards faster, platform-enabled intelligence that connects customer and business data, AI and human expertise, while redefining the insight professional’s role around challenge, interpretation, influence and action.

Gain practical ideas for redesigning operating models, demonstrating value and making insight more integral to better customer and commercial decisions.

Georgie White, Director of Customer Intelligence & Effectiveness, NatWest

Michael Crow, Partner Customer Insight KPMG

Transforming insight for an AI rea: early lessons from BT 

BT is transforming its insight function, exploring how AI can accelerate delivery, expand capabilities and increase commercial impact. Drawing on its early experience, the session will share the opportunities, challenges and lessons emerging from this journey - from AI-powered tools and synthetic audiences to building new in-house capabilities within constrained budgets. It will examine how technology is changing the skills and roles required within insight teams, with greater emphasis on consulting, strategic influence, stakeholder management and human judgement. 

Attendees will leave with practical ideas, early lessons learned and a framework for starting their own transformation journey.

Tom Cole, Senior Insight Manager, BT

Louise Sharpe, Senior Insight Manager, BT

11.00

Morning refreshments

11.30

Panel: when the CEO’s first stop is Copilot, what is insight’s unique value?

·       Understanding our human advantage in an AI insight world

·       How can insight become the trusted decision partner, rather than simply another information source?

·       How do Insight teams move from delivering research to impacting strategic decisions?

Chair

Claire Rainey, Claire Rainey Consulting (formerly, Head of Insight, VirginMediaO2)

Panellists

Dionne Gordon, Head of Research and Market Insights, Correla

Katherine Hardwick, Group Insight Director, Samworth Brothers

Kevin Hains, Head of Insight, giffgaff

12.00

Reinventing trust at HSBC: the research that won executive buy-in

Discover how to design insight that earns executive sponsorship, influences strategy and demonstrates value at board level.

HSBC set an ambition to become the world’s most trusted bank, but conventional tracking couldn’t explain the gap between rational and emotional trust. Working with D+M, they reframed trust from “protection” to “conviction to act”, by combining AI-enabled discourse analysis across seven markets, AI-powered semiotics of 17,000 brand assets and 150 depth interviews. Crucially, they also involved all 12 members of HSBC’s Operating Committee early, building belief, advocacy and executive ownership from the outset.

Find out how this approach boosted the insight team’s impact and value.

Shaun Barton, Managing Partner, d+m

Sebastian Mitchinson, Group Insight Manager, HSBC

Joshua Sorene, Head of Brand & Reputation Insights, HSBC

12.30

The newsroom mindset that made us a more influential, confident and strategic team

Discover how a unique 12-month project at Motability Operations that focused on journalistic storytelling is inspiring two capability transformations. First, the ability of the insights team to play a more integral role in decision-making, from provider of data to adviser. Second, empowering individuals to develop the kinds of skills that help them to be bolder, more consultative, collaborative and impactful.

Grant Feller, Founder, Everyrung

in conversation with

Madeleine Linden, Head Customer Insight & Analytics, Motability Operations

13.00

Lunch

14.00

Always-on insight: turning live signals into strategic advantage, faster decisions and greater business impact

How can insight get closer to decision-making and become indispensable to the business?

Network Rail already had a strong quarterly view of how its communications were landing. But fast-moving issues don’t wait for quarterly reporting cycles. Together, Network Rail and Yonder created an always-on AI Watchtower that gave senior stakeholders an earlier view of emerging issues. Human-reviewed alerts and rapid flash briefs turned emerging signals into clear evidence, implications and recommended actions.

Hear how always-on insight generated a new strategic capability that helped senior teams anticipate issues, respond with confidence and make better decisions in the moment.

Alice Bresciani, Insight Director, Yonder Consulting

Chris Erridge, Head of Social and Digital, Network Rail

14.30

From insight to influence: what happens when insight starts to matter?

Over the past three years, The LEGO Group has transformed its marketing effectiveness programme, moving beyond measurement to make insight a genuine driver of decisions, change and commercial impact. As its visibility, credibility and influence have grown, so too has demand, creating new challenges around prioritisation, expectations, focus and capacity. This session shares lessons from managing success: how to build influence, navigate stakeholder enthusiasm, set boundaries, prioritise demand and maintain quality and impact when everyone wants a piece of the insights. Ultimately, it explores how to ensure influence continues to grow without becoming overwhelmed by success.

James Sallows, Head of Marketing Effectiveness, The LEGO Group

15.00

Afternoon refreshments

15.30

Practicing radical transparency to unlock the power of agency partnerships

When insight teams are seeking greater influence and impact, agency partners can be really valuable allies for achieving insight transformation… if they work well together.

Drawing on themes emerging from Aura’s Working Well Together campaign and stories from successful client–agency partnerships, this session explores how Radical Transparency can elevate both the work and the influence of insight teams. What happens when we openly share the context, constraints, expectations and barriers to change?

Through a practical exercise, delegates will explore what Radical Transparency could mean for their own partnerships and identify what they can start to do differently this week.

Aura

16.00

Conference keynote session - brought to you by Opinium

Conference sponsor Opinium is bringing former Scotland Yard hostage negotiator Suzanne Williams QPM to the MRS Client Conference for an unmissable fireside conversation on the art of listening and influence. What does it mean to really listen when getting the conversation wrong could cost a life?

Drawing on Suzanne’s extraordinary experience negotiating in some of the most high-stakes situations imaginable, the session will explore what researchers and insight leaders can learn about listening, questioning, building trust and influencing others, and how these skills can transform the way we understand people, navigate difficult conversations and engage with senior stakeholders. Suzanne will be joined in conversation by Opinium Qualitative Director Jamal Khadar.

Jamal Khadar, Qualitative Director, Opinium

In conversation with

Suzanne Williams QPM, former Scotland Yard hostage negotiator

16.45

End of conference

Networking Drinks

Delegates are invited to continue discussions at the networking drinks reception