Episode 86: Transforming Insight at Sage
What does it mean to lead through Insight in a world that never slows down? In our fourth episode of season 12, James welcomes Eddie O’Brien, Senior Director, Global Customer Insight and Experience at Sage. From navigating the pace of the SaaS industry to reimagining what Insight professionals can and should be, Eddie brings a refreshingly candid and forward-thinking perspective to the conversation.
Eddie takes us through how his team at Sage has shifted from traditional research cycles to a more agile, consultative model, one that keeps pace with rapid technological, political, and economic change. It's a mindset shift that will resonate with any Insight leader feeling the pressure to do more, faster, and with greater impact.
We explore how AI and digital tools are transforming the Insight function in practice, with Eddie sharing real use cases from Sage, including knowledge management, conversational Insight agents, and synthetic data. He makes a compelling case for why synthetic data, when used alongside traditional methods, deserves a seat at the table and why a willingness to experiment is now a core professional competency.
The conversation also looks ahead to the skills Insight teams will need to thrive: engineering, facilitation, and the ability to guide stakeholders through complexity rather than simply delivering findings. Yet for all the change on the horizon, Eddie reminds us that the fundamentals — curiosity, communication, and making sense of the complex — remain as valuable as ever.
Whether you're an Insight leader navigating transformation or a researcher looking to grow your impact, this is an episode full of practical inspiration.
Please listen to find out more!
Topics Discussed
- The Untraditional Nature of Insight at Sage (2.46)
- The Importance of Personal Impact in Insight(6.23)
- The Fourth Era of Insight: Agentic Insight (10.40)
- Curating Insight for Stakeholders (20.19)
- Exploring Synthetic Data in Insight (25.22)
- The Future of Insight Operating Models (31.04)
This is episode 86 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, and the 9Ps of The Insight Leader’s Playbook, 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.
About James Wycherley, the author of Transforming Insight
James Wycherley was Director of Customer Insight and Analytics at Barclays Bank from 2005 to 2015 when he became Chief Executive of the Insight Management Academy (IMA).
He published his first book, Transforming Insight, in 2020, and his second, The Insight Leader’s Playbook, in 2025, and he hosts the Insight forums and the Transforming Insight podcast.
An entertaining keynote speaker, he has presented over 50 times at Quirk’s events, a global record, and has provided thought leadership in the UK, USA, Europe, Canada, Australia, India and the Middle East.
The Insight Management Academy is the world’s leading authority on transforming corporate Insight teams, and its vision is to inspire and support every Insight leader to transform the impact of Insight in their organisation.
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
Disclaimer
The Transforming Insight podcast is published by the Insight Management Academy and produced by Zorbiant.
