Suggestions
Lisa Gudding
President @ Ipsos
Lisa Gudding is a senior executive at Ipsos, one of the world's leading market research companies. She was recently promoted to the role of President of Strategic Growth at Ipsos in August 2024.12 In this position, Gudding and her team are responsible for providing new clients with solutions to their most pressing business problems.1
Professional Background
Gudding has a strong track record in the market research industry and is highly regarded for her expertise. She has been with Ipsos for several years, previously holding the position of Executive Vice President and Senior Client Officer.45
Responsibilities and Expertise
As President of Strategic Growth, Gudding's key responsibilities include:
- Leading strategic growth initiatives for Ipsos
- Providing innovative solutions to new clients
- Leveraging her extensive experience in market research and client relations
Industry Recognition and Involvement
Gudding is recognized for her contributions to the market research field:
- She sits on the boards of the University of Wisconsin Marketing Leadership Institute and the American Marketing Association Foundation1
- Known for her passion in helping clients grow their businesses
- Regarded as an accomplished expert in the industry
Leadership Style
Gudding is known for her approach to sales and client relationships, which emphasizes:
- Leading with curiosity and generosity
- Implementing deep sales best practices
- Focusing on building successful client partnerships3
Her promotion, along with those of other senior leaders, is part of Ipsos' strategy to enhance its client focus and reinforce its position as an innovative leader in market research.12
Highlights
Apprenticeship.
It’s something that we think about most often in terms of trades or the arts, but there’s surely more of a place for it in the business world as well.
I’m married to a musician. He grew up playing music, studied it at college, but he notes that the real learning started when he began playing gigs with master musicians—listening/watching/learning. Even now he takes occasional lessons from those most notable in his genre.
Do we do this at our companies? Give people the chance to witness and collaborate with masters doing their thing—whether it’s sales, people management, client engagement? Some of it probably happens in the course of a day by osmosis, but if we proactively identified those in our companies that are truly the best at what they do, then had others rotate through working with them, I think it could have a great impact. It's different than a training or an assigned mentor.
And I don’t think it’s just for junior people, all of us have more to learn from the masters, and none of us has mastered everything that is important.
I’d love to hear related stories.
The last entry from Jeff Pope’s “Ten Things I Think I’ve Learned.”
I’m excited about the future and see it as a new phase of life.
I’d like to think that I will live for several more decades—and be very productive. I’m ready to get fired up about a new set of things. I’ve even got a new calling card, a card that describes what I believe is my “calling,” not my job. And on the back of that card I have an abridgement of a quote from Henry David Thoreau in Walden:
“… if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in the common hours.”
Since the common hours in my life and career up to now have far exceeded my expectations (or even any vision that I had as a younger person), the future I can dream and imagine is very exciting!
Thanks, Jeff, for letting me share this collection of learnings. You're an inspiration.
