Transforming Insight Podcast

Episode 50: Transforming Insight at Nestle UK

Episode Summary

Episode 50 of the IMA's Transforming Insight podcast is now available. In this extended episode, James talks to Carolina Otero, Head of the Insight Function at Nestle UK. Carolina is one of our few podcast guests whose journey into Insight was not an accident, but a conscious choice. Bringing us on a journey through her career, from Argentina to the UK, Carolina has seen both agency and client-side roles working with a list of enviable brands and companies. Understanding the value in her learnings from previous roles, Carolina shares her experience of a total reset and redefinition of Insight at Nestle UK. Carolina was a driving for transformation, building a new foundation for the Insight team. Carolina shares her playbook on empowering teams, highlighting the importance of helping each team member contribute to and feel part of the collective growth, ultimately achieving a team that is greater than the sum of its parts. We examine the shift from technical expertise to skills like influencing, storytelling, and data synthesis to drive actionable Insights. We end the episode with Carolina sharing an important lesson for other Insight leaders – “to develop the team, to empower the team and use the talent that you have within”. Please listen to find out more!

Episode Notes

Topics Discussed

A look back at Carolina’s past roles (2:30)
Seminal moments in Carolina’s Insight career (11:50)
Learning from transformations at PepsiCo (14:50)
Being a driving force for transformation at Nestle UK (16:07)
Building capabilities in the team to be bigger than the sum of the parts (25:37)
Developing the plan for a transformation initiative at Nestle UK (26:45)

Highlights

“It's very good in terms of foundation to learn, to be on an agency to start with. It's really very varied and it's giving you a very formative experience, so I think that that's why it tends to be the normal path” (06:32)
“You cannot think so much at the moment of the fire! But you look back, and I do realize that there's a lot about how I connect with people and create those collaborative relationships. And you realize that you deliver, and are able to achieve through others and through the combination of a strong team working together” (14:20)
“So, it was really a moment of total reset and redefinition. And yes, and I have to say that I'm very, very proud of the team. We did a very thoughtful process of getting to the point where we are right now. The UK is also leading in many projects and ways of working in the region. And we've done a very strong process of team building and capability building within the team” (17:05)
“I felt that everybody needed to understand and embrace that if you stay behind, you're going to be behind more and more as everything keeps evolving. So just to give that sense of urgency that we needed to get on the bus and make sure that we were moving all together to this future, that where we were required and required to play with different skills” (21:55)
“There are a lot of these skills that in the past maybe we were looking more at technical skills, but now these are core skills that, to be successful, we need to develop and we need to help everybody in our teams to get there and feel that they can develop them, even if they haven't tried so much in the past.” (25:22)
“I think that one thing for leaders is to develop the team, to empower the team and use the talent that you have within” (34:36)

This is episode 50 of the Transforming Insight podcast.

If you have the ambition to transform your Insight team and the role it plays in your organisation, please tune in to future episodes. Not only will we explore the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams as outlined in the Transforming Insight book, we will also talk to senior corporate Insight leaders, delve into books that have inspired us, and discuss new best practice research carried out with the IMA’s corporate members.

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About James Wycherley, the author of Transforming Insight

James Wycherley was Director of Customer Insight and Analytics at Barclays from 2005 to 2015 when he became Chief Executive of the Insight Management Academy (IMA). A popular keynote speaker and acknowledged expert on Insight leadership, strategy, and communication, he is the author of the book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams, and over 35 IMA publications. He has provided thought leadership in the UK, Western Europe, the USA, Canada, Australia, India, and the Middle East, and regularly hosts the IMA’s Insight forums - London, Manchester, UK Online and US Online.

The Insight Management Academy is the world’s leading authority on transforming Insight teams.

Resources:

If you would like more information on any of the ideas discussed in this episode of the Transforming Insight podcast, please visit www.insight-management.org

Copies of James Wycherley’s book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams can be purchased direct from www.transforming-insight.com

Disclaimer

The Transforming Insight podcast is published by the Insight Management Academy and produced by Zorbiant.