The ICN Story

Change starts with someone taking action.

Stephen Griffiths recognized that the existing social support network for professionals in market research, user experience, business decisions, and strategy was inadequate and not equally accessible to all.

He witnessed gaps in the support system being filled by volunteer community support at the local level and envisioned scaling this model to a much broader level.

The realization that our professional network is essential during challenging times, coupled with the observation that not everyone had equal access to this support, inspired the creation of the Insights Career Network. The core belief that drove this initiative was that support networks should be inclusive and accessible to all, as “nets don’t have walls.”

Stephen is a doer. In November of 2021, he reached out to everyone he knew in his CPG research world and to his friends in MRxPros, a free-access community of market research professionals at all stages of their careers, founded by Jamin Brazil and Janet Standen at the start of the pandemic which met weekly to process the changes in the world and profession. Sectors of the MRX community were reeling from pandemic pain, and the need for support for career development was staggering. 

His vision: establish an accessible, volunteer-powered community that could help people find their voice and their way through career transitions.

Five more good people stepped up to co-found the ICN: Doug Keith, independent research consultant, Jacci Weber, research practitioner with Mars Petcare, Maya Kantak, then a researcher at Disney, Justin T. Hawkins, researcher with Kimberly-Clark, and Brian Fowler, a former research practitioner and research platform executive turned independent consultant. Brian’s background also included 20 years of leading volunteer-powered chapters of the Market Research Association, American Marketing Association, and Insights Association. 

Each knew of the pain, isolation, and despair felt by people who were tossed out for one reason or another. Career transitions can be the most emotional and loneliest times in our lives when even our closest friends and family can have difficulty relating and supporting us. What we sometimes need in our support net is for no strings to be attached. 

We recognized the power of Community and how relevance in an industry, trend, or experience, can amplify the value of the support you receive. Shared experiences breed open and honest discussions which can be hard to find in a world dominated by social media, marketing, and exclusivity.  

The co-founders brought their experience, energy, and excitement to the creation of much of what you see in today’s ICN. 

The founders also realized the importance of providing safe places for important discussions early on and not just at our meetups. We included community leaders across the insights sector, industry, and profession with universities, publishers, and professional organizations to guide the ICN’s volunteer leaders through new opportunities and challenges. 10 more senior executive volunteer leaders stood up to join our advisory council, including leaders at Greenbook, Quirk’s, UW, IPSOS, and Michigan State.

By 3/22, we had rolled out our name, logo, and online presence and were promoting our first ICN meetup. We six worked in entrepreneurial tandem and madness until the end of 2023 when the team expanded and changed.

As of January 2025, the ICN has a volunteer team of more than 25, led by a core volunteer leadership team of 15. Our current member count is over 2,300, our total LinkedIn audience counts 21,000+ followers, and our biweekly meetups regularly host 100 Seekers & Allies from all over the globe.

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