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UK research and evidence market hits record £18.7 billion valuation

MRS Leaders Forum
The VIP network for agency leaders

Date and time

May
20
2026

Wednesday
09:00–16:30

Location

Radisson Blu Edwardian London

Large companies

£1050+VAT

Small companies

£850+VAT

Please let us know if you have any accessibility requirements ahead of the event

Booking Details A white arrow

The MRS Leaders Forum is a unique network for insight agency business leaders (CEOs and MDs) to discuss the critical strategic, operational and financial challenges and opportunities in running and growing an insight agency.

This intimate and exclusive network provides a focussed space for senior leaders to extend their learning and skills whilst being frank about their current challenges. It’s the perfect forum to explore new sector-specific ideas, and connect with like-minded entrepreneurs and leaders.

Why join?

Accelerate your personal leadership development
Gain access to B2B experts who can help solve specific growth, strategic, and operational challenges
Absorb inspiring ideas from agency leaders who have cracked those tough problems!
Exchange views and problem-solve key business challenges with insight leaders tackling similar issues
Connect with a peer-to-peer mentoring network which will last beyond the year long programme

What makes the MRS Leaders Forum different to other leadership programmes?

Not only will you connect and collaborate with other leaders, you’ll also be able to discuss the very specific challenges and business dynamics of the insight sector. We know that it’s harder than ever to retain client value; we know that disrupters in the broader insight ecosystem are making winning new business challenging; we know that recruitment and retention has never been tougher; we know that business leaders are facing a hurricane of new strategic decisions. That’s why we’ve designed a programme of events that will support leaders to power through these challenges and continue to grow through changing times.

The year-long programme of events comprises:

10 March 2026: MRS Leaders Lunch @ MRS Annual Conference*
20 May 2026: MRS Leaders Forum - full day meeting
TBC September 2026: Social networking event
Forum members will also receive a 25% discount off tickets to the annual Agency Owners & Leaders conference taking place on the 19 November 2026.

*to attend conference session at the Annual Conference a delegate ticket must be purchase

The full day forum is an intimate meeting that follow the Chatham House rule. Delegates will be seated in small groups of 8-10 leaders with similar sized or focussed businesses to ensure peer-to-peer discussions are relevant to your interests. The day will combine expert presentations, panel sessions and round table discussions.

Email Conference@mrs.org.uk to book

Peer advisory discussion

An important element of the full day forum is the open format we reserve for the final roundtable session of the event. Come to the forum armed with a specific business challenge you’d like help with solving. After briefly sharing the business challenge with your peers the table will vote on which two problems they will collectively aim to solve. Share ideas, hear alternative approaches, find out what’s worked for others. This collective brainstorming session is guaranteed to stretch leaders’ mindsets and open you up to new ideas.

The MRS Leaders Forum promotes a shared learning journey which will accelerate your personal leadership development.

There are limited places on all our leaders’ events so book early.

Book your place and you’ll never be lonely at the top again!

Venue

Radisson Blu Edwardian
9-13 Bloomsbury Street,London,WC1B 3QD

With special thanks to:

Norstat

Norstat is a European data collection company with large proprietary active online panels in the UK, Ireland and 17 other countries. As we own the panels, we can profile the audiences our customers want to speak to as well as provide reassurance about the source of data. Data quality is about recruitment, registration, and engagement of panellists, as well as in-survey controls. Norstat is a trusted data collection partner for many market researchers, delivering stress free fieldwork with high-quality data.

Media Partner

Breaking market research news, latest job vacancies, industry reports, in-depth analysis and cutting-edge opinion for customer insight professionals.

MRS 80th anniversary sponsor:

WALR

Walr is a data creation company that supports insight professionals globally. It specialises in reaching diverse audience segments, leveraging proprietary technology, and offering bespoke services.

With a comprehensive suite of tools, backed by a team of seasoned industry professionals, Walr’s services include efficient data collection methods, intuitive data visualisation and reporting techniques, and supportive and transparent advice.

Walr exists to unify the complex and fragmented research process by introducing more efficient, rapid, and straightforward methods.

MRS is proud to support:

MRBA

The MRBA is the industry’s only charity and is here for when life gets tough. The MRBA assists those facing financial hardship due to illness, bereavement, personal difficulties, or imminent financial distress. To date it has supported over 1,100 individuals, distributing more than £1 million in aid, either through grants or interest-free loans.

The MRBA is here for anyone, young or old, who has worked in the UK market or social research industry, as a supplier or client, for at least two years – whether in research, insights, operations, analysis, interviewing or management.

The MRBA also offers bursaries for those wishing to further their research knowledge and gain qualifications but who are unable to fund it financially. If you would like to learn more, or help us to provide financial support to colleagues in distress.

Dr Matilda Andersson, CEO, Truth Consulting

Dr Matilda Andersson is a highly accomplished market insight and strategic planning expert with over 15 years of senior leadership experience across the UK and international markets. She began her career at the BBC and has since turned her attention to scaling agencies. Since taking over the reins at Truth Consulting, Matilda has successfully returned the business to growth and profitability. She has revitalised the agency’s strategic direction, launched new service offers to futureproof the business, secured high-profile new clients, and led the successful sale of Truth to Paritee in December 2025, an EMEA PR and communications network, privately and PE-backed.

Previously, Matilda spent eight years as Group Managing Director at Crowd DNA, where she led the company through a period of transformative expansion, culminating in its sale to STRAT7 in 2020 and subsequent growth. Analytically and commercially astute, and culturally fluent, Matilda continues to lead and grow client accounts, as well as agencies, to reach their full potential.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/matildaandersson/

Lucy Davison, Founder & CEO, Keen as Mustard Marketing

Nicole Duckworth, Commercial Transformation Director, 4Twenty2

Nicole Duckworth works with market research and insight agencies to help them become more consultative, commercially confident partners to their senior clients. Working as part of the team at 4twenty2, she supports agencies navigating growth, changing client expectations and the shift from delivering outputs to shaping outcomes.

With over 30 years’ experience in the insights world, and having worked both agency?side and client?side, Nicole brings a grounded understanding of what senior clients value when decisions matter most. She is passionate about helping agencies close the gap between excellent project delivery and the advisory confidence required to influence decisions earlier and at a more strategic level.

Nicole brings a pragmatic, commercially grounded perspective to every conversation, focusing on the practical behaviours that help teams steadily build judgement, credibility and trust at senior levels. Her work helps agencies move beyond being busy and brilliant, to being genuinely influential when it matters most

Nicole Duckworth, PCC | LinkedIn

Rachel Fraser, Leadership Coach, Harvest Moonrise

I help leaders navigate their roles with clarity and confidence, unlocking the potential in their teams and accelerating the human skills that drive commercial growth in an increasingly AI-driven world.

With 20 years’ experience in insight—across both agency and client-side roles—and a career path from graduate scheme to board level, I understand your world. Building on this commercial foundation, I am now a professionally trained and certified leadership coach, supporting individuals and organisations to perform at their best.

I work one-to-one with leaders and coach teams to strengthen leadership capability and ways of working. I also design and deliver engaging workshops and talks on modern leadership, and host a quarterly ‘Accelerated Book Club’, distilling insights from bestselling leadership books so you can learn faster and lead better.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachael-fraser-53626013/

Paul Griffiths, Growth Consultant. Client Advocates

Paul Griffiths is the founder of Client Advocates. He helps leaders of Market Research and Insight Agencies grow revenues through proven strategies. He supports Heads of Insight to increase their influence and budgets by more effectively generating commercial impact.

With 25 years' experience growing research agencies and working with client insight teams, Paul understands the challenges of delivering great work while driving commercial value. He's worked agency and client side, selling and commissioning research, managing commercial relationships, and advising leaders in the UK and internationally.

If you're looking to grow your insight agency or adapt to changing market conditions, Paul brings practical strategies that work.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulneilgriffiths/
Website: https://clientadvocates.co.uk/

Paul Hudson, CEO, FlexMR

Kahren Kersten, Founder, Experience Insights & Senior Consultant, Cambiar Consulting

0900-09.45	Registration & coffee
09.45-10.00	Introduction from the Chair Paul Griffiths, Growth Consultant. Client Advocates.
10.00-10.20	IN CONVERSATION Transform to thrive: leading organisational change in disrupted insight markets Join Paul Griffiths and FlexMR CEO Paul Hudson for a practical, candid exploration of what it really takes to deliver successful organisational transformation in today’s rapidly changing insight industry. They’ll unpack proven approaches, common pitfalls and the leadership behaviours that help agencies reshape their structures, cultures and capabilities for future growth. Attendees will gain actionable guidance they can apply to elevate their own leadership while steering their organisations confidently through change. Paul Griffiths, Growth Consultant, Client Advocates In conversation with Paul Hudson, CEO, FlexMR
10.20-10.30	Q&A
10.30-10.50	PRESENTATION You want to be a consultative agency? Here’s the missing link Senior clients want sharper judgement, earlier clarity, and trusted partners when the stakes are high. Most importantly, they’re prioritising outcomes over outputs and are seeking more consultative relationships. But becoming more consultative is a leap too big for the majority of client teams. Great project delivery doesn’t automatically translate into advisory confidence. This session reveals the practical, non-daunting micro behaviours that move teams, at pace, from running projects to shaping decisions, the behaviours that build commercial confidence without pretending teams have transformed into management consultants overnight. Nicole Duckworth, Commercial Transformation Director, 4twenty2
10.50-11.00	Q&A
11.00-11.30	break
11.30-12.30	PANEL & ROUND TABLE Ownership value and growth in the insights industry What is the best ownership model to achieve sustainable growth and success for your agency? As the insights industry transforms, so must the ways its agencies are owned, financed, and administered. This session examines what ownership means in 2026 and beyond, exploring models from public and private ownership to employee stock ownership plans, private equity, and venture capital. Hear from current and former CEOs to understand which ownership structures best support different types of organisations. Discover “ownership personas” that reflect distinct models and mindsets. And, through interactive exercises, explore how each structure shapes growth, culture, operational decision-making, and long-term value. Lucy Davison, Founder & CEO, Keen as Mustard Marketing Kahren Kersten, Founder, Experience Insights & Senior Consultant, Cambiar Consulting CEO panel – panellists to be announced
12.30	Lunch
14.00-14.20	CASE STUDY Selling Truth: how to turn around, prepare and sell an agency in under two years Matilda shares the real story behind the turnaround and sale of Truth Consulting to Paritee. This session sets out a practical roadmap for agency leaders who may be facing similar questions - whether an exit is imminent or a future plan. It’s not a glossy success story. It includes setbacks, imperfect conditions and moments where progress felt fragile. It is also a transparent account of what it takes to step into senior agency leadership not having founded the business. · Creating a clear vision that became the core of the sale proposition · Financial preparation and discipline under pressure · How to position and market an agency to the right buyers · Using personal and professional networks, value mapping and non-obvious routes to find strategic fit · Managing a team through uncertainty, change and transition Dr Matilda Andersson, CEO, Truth Consulting
14.20-14.30	Q&A
14.30-14.50	TRAINING Future leaders by design: building leadership capability and succession pipelines that power agency growth In many agencies, future leaders develop by observation rather than design, they mimic what they see, often without training, support, or reflection. But this approach risks decisions become reactive, culture suffering, and potential leadership talent leaving or remaining undeveloped. This session will explore the mindset and skillset future leaders truly need to thrive and will equip agency owners, CEOs, and MDs to develop the next generation of leaders. It will examine how to teach and embed these capabilities in ways that are practical, scalable, and aligned with business strategy - moving beyond generic leadership programs to intentionally shaping agency leadership DNA. Rachael Fraser, Leadership Coach, Harvest Moonrise
14.50-15.00	Q&A
15.00-15.30	break
15.30-16.30	ROUND TABLE Peer advisory round table discussion Come to the forum with a growth challenge you’d like help solving. Working in small groups, delegates will select two challenges to tackle. Share ideas, hear alternative approaches and find out what’s worked for others.
16.30	End of forum Delegates are invited to continue networking at our informal drinks reception

Additional Information