The Insights Association (IA) announced that Melanie Courtright, who has served as Chief Executive Officer since January 1, 2020, will step down effective November 1 to become Chief Strategy Officer of Sago, a leading global research solutions organization.
During her nearly six years of leadership, Courtright has guided the Insights Association through a period of exceptional growth, modernization, and industry influence. Her tenure has been marked by a series of transformative achievements, including:
- Consistent growth in membership, particularly among corporate research departments.
- A leading role in forming the Global Data Quality initiative, uniting the industry around shared standards of excellence.
- A comprehensive rebranding of IA, featuring a refreshed mission statement and new tagline: Know what’s next.
- Record-setting conference attendance; solidifying the Corporate Researchers Conference as the go-to event for brands; and the development of IA’s innovative one-day Ignite events.
- Continuous evolution of IA’s Code of Standards, ensuring its relevance in an era of rapid technological advancement.
- Expansion of industry benchmarking reports, awards programs, and on-demand training resources.
- Reinforcement of IA’s critical advocacy role, representing the insights and analytics community before regulators and policymakers.
- Oversight of significant growth within CIRQ (the Certification Institute for Research Quality), IA’s ISO audit and certification subsidiary for ISO 20252 and ISO 27001 standards.
“Melanie’s vision and leadership have left an enduring mark on the Insights Association and the broader research community,” said Jackie Chan, Head of Research, Business Messaging at Meta and IA Board Chair. “Her commitment to data quality, member value, and industry integrity has set a new standard for association leadership.”
The IA Board of Directors has established a Search Committee to select a successor. A “Call for Candidates” will be announced within the next few days. Courtright will continue to serve in an ex officio (non-voting) role on the IA Board and devote time in the coming months to work directly with IA’s new CEO to ensure a seamless transition.
“Serving as IA’s CEO has been one of the greatest honors of my professional life. Together, we’ve built an association rooted in integrity, collaboration, and progress – strengthening both our profession and the people who make it thrive,” Courtright said. “I am profoundly grateful for the trust, support, and partnership of this incredible community throughout my journey. I will always champion this community and our mission, even as I take on new challenges and continue contributing to our field from a different vantage point.”
Before joining the Insights Association, Courtright served as Executive Vice President, Research Science & Data Strategy at Dynata, where she led global initiatives to advance data integrity and research design. A respected and passionate voice on research quality and standards, she has contributed to numerous industry organizations and initiatives, including serving on the executive board of the University of Georgia’s MRII Education Program, as a U.S. representative to ESOMAR, as an active member of Women in Research (WIRe), and as President of IA’s South Central Chapter. With more than two decades of experience designing and executing research for agencies and corporations, her career began at a full-service research firm and grew through leadership positions at Research Now, SSI, and Dynata following their merger.