The best conversations at a research conference don’t happen on stage. They happen in the hallways, right after a session, when someone’s still thinking out loud. Waves of Thinking is our attempt to capture that—short, unfiltered interviews with the researchers and strategists shaping the future of consumer insights, recorded live from the floor at IIEX West 2026 in San Francisco, hosted by Greenbook. Over two days, ten insights leaders shared how they’re approaching AI, consumer behavior, and the future of research. Here’s everything from our time there.
Key takeaways from IIEX West 2026
- Andrew Embry, Lilly: Bold thinking in a regulated industry starts with knowing where the real limits are.
- Maya Kantak, Rocket: Looking sideways to UX, CX, and consumer insights builds impact for researchers and their teams.
- Liz Riley Raukohl, Olly: Insights teams stay the trusted source by working insights into everyday conversations.
- Sarah Ryan, Everyday Health Group: Becoming a parent is one of the biggest consumer pivot points, and each platform plays a different role in her decisions.
- Rob Gaige, Reddit: Insights built on community and passion come first, with demographics at the end.
- Sam Wong, Mark Anthony Group: AI pilots scale with business sponsorship, room to iterate, and a strong data foundation.
- Sydney Williams, Flex: A human-first approach with comfort at the center helps consumers open up on sensitive topics.
- John Koblinsky, SAP Concur: AI answers deserve verification against the source, with rigor matched to the stakes.
- Glenn Fleischman, aytm: AIY, or agent it yourself, lets the platform handle execution while researchers bring the expertise.
- Jordana Young, Microsoft: Human-centric AI keeps experiences within what people can absorb.
Kicking off Waves of Thinking — Elana Schott, aytm
aytm’s Elana Schott introduces Waves of Thinking live from the floor at IIEX West 2026 in San Francisco. This short-form series captures unfiltered conversations with the researchers, strategists, and insights leaders shaping the future of consumer intelligence. No slides, no polish—just sharp perspectives from the people doing the work.
Andrew Embry — Lilly
Andrew Embry, Senior Director of Insights Innovation and Capabilities at Lilly, shows how to think boldly in a highly regulated industry like pharma. At IIEX West 2026, he shares why a constraint that looks fixed often has more flexibility than it seems, and how his team names each risk, sizes it honestly, and does the homework on policies and laws before bringing a point of view to senior leaders. Sometimes he’s right, and sometimes the pushback adds nuance. Either way, the team makes a smarter decision. He also delivered a surprise slam poetry performance during his session.
Maya Kantak — Rocket
Maya Kantak, Lead UX Researcher at Rocket, invites researchers to think sideways. At IIEX West 2026, she shares what each adjacent discipline does best: consumer insights makes findings memorable enough that people repeat them back, UX research right-sizes the work so the business can act on it, and CX research keeps measuring the customer relationship after a study ends. Her take: everybody in this industry is an insights professional, and learning from one another makes the work more valuable and adaptable.
Liz Riley Raukohl — Olly
Liz Riley Raukohl, Insights Director at Olly, returned to Waves of Thinking after a talk on being a strategic chef in a short order kitchen. At IIEX West 2026, she explains how insights teams stay the trusted source when anyone can ask an LLM a question in seconds: work insights into live conversations with a money chart or a quick screenshot, so stakeholders know what the team has and invite them in. Her advice: teams get invited for their knowledge, and the methodology slide belongs in the appendix.
Sarah Ryan — Everyday Health Group
Sarah Ryan of Everyday Health Group, home of Baby Center and What to Expect, makes the case that motherhood is the ultimate consumer pivot. In this Waves of Thinking conversation at IIEX West 2026, she explains how a shifting identity reshapes every purchase decision, and where mom turns for different kinds of information along the way. YouTube supports deep learning, TikTok drives discovery, Instagram is where she engages with brands, and Facebook groups are where she shares her opinion. Brands that show up across all of them meet her where she is.
Rob Gaige — Reddit
Rob Gaige, who leads marketing insights and operations at Reddit, gets into what keeps the platform the most human place on the internet. At IIEX West 2026, he shares how anonymity, human moderation, and an upvote system where every comment starts at zero let authenticity govern itself. Limited personal data pushed his team to build insights from community and passion first, with demographics coming at the end. He also shares that over half of people in the US validate on Reddit what they first discover through an LLM.
Sam Wong — Mark Anthony Group
Sam Wong of Mark Anthony Group brings more than 20 years in data and AI to the question of how to escape pilot purgatory. At IIEX West 2026, he explains why the strongest pilots have business leaders as sponsors, a business problem tied to revenue, expenses, or risk, and enough room to iterate. He also makes the case for data management as the foundation for AI: shared definitions, managed semantic models, and continuous improvement in data quality, so LLMs read your data the way your team does.
Sydney Williams — Flex
Sydney Williams, Director of Strategy and Insights at Flex, a modern period care brand, shares how her team creates space for consumers to talk openly about a sensitive topic. At IIEX West 2026, she explains how a human-first approach with comfort as the rallying cry makes it easier for people to feel safe sharing, and how that shaped messaging about taking care of yourself and being a little brave the first time.
John Koblinsky — SAP Concur
John Koblinsky, who leads research and insights at SAP Concur, opened his session with a question: do we still need research reports? At IIEX West 2026, he shares how researchers can tell real AI synthesis from hallucination when marketers load multiple reports into an LLM, and why verifying answers against the source matters. He also walks through evidence assurance, three levels of building research into AI workflows—directional, grounded, and auditable—and why the most effortful level belongs on the biggest strategic decisions.
Glenn Fleischman — aytm
aytm CRO Glenn Fleischman breaks down the journey to always-on insights. At IIEX West 2026, he defines AIY, or agent it yourself: where DIY research is lane assist and cruise control, AIY is a Waymo, with the platform handling execution while researchers bring their expertise, strategy, and business questions. The groundwork comes first. A platform set up with your methods, context, and audiences means an urgent question from the business can become a study launched from the couch on a Sunday.
Jordana Young — Microsoft
Jordana Young, Senior Product Insights Lead for Copilot Studio at Microsoft, brings a human-centric lens to enterprise AI. In this Waves of Thinking conversation at IIEX West 2026, she explains the tension between adopting AI faster and keeping experiences within what people can absorb. She also looks at how AI shifts long-held assumptions, including how a business defines a unit of value when AI handles part of the job.
Until next time
Ten conversations. One conference. A lot to think about. aytm’s Waves of Thinking series wrapped up at IIEX West 2026 with perspectives from researchers, strategists, and insights leaders across brands including Lilly, Reddit, Microsoft, and SAP Concur. The through-line: putting the human at the center of research, alongside AI. We’re leaving inspired—and already looking ahead to 2027. Catch up on every episode and stay tuned for what’s next.
Frequently asked questions
What is Waves of Thinking?
Waves of Thinking is aytm’s short-form video interview series, recorded live at market research and insights conferences. Hosts capture unfiltered conversations with researchers, strategists, and insights leaders, often right after they present. At IIEX West 2026 in San Francisco, aytm’s Elana Schott hosted ten conversations.
Who was interviewed at IIEX West 2026?
Waves of Thinking at IIEX West 2026 featured Andrew Embry of Lilly, Maya Kantak of Rocket, Liz Riley Raukohl of Olly, Sarah Ryan of Everyday Health Group, Rob Gaige of Reddit, Sam Wong of Mark Anthony Group, Sydney Williams of Flex, John Koblinsky of SAP Concur, Glenn Fleischman of aytm, and Jordana Young of Microsoft.
What does AIY mean in market research?
AIY stands for “agent it yourself.” aytm CRO Glenn Fleischman describes it as the phase after DIY research: with DIY, technology helps you drive, and with AIY, the platform handles execution while you bring your expertise, strategy, and business questions.
.webp)
.jpeg)
