About EileenCampbell

I've spent my career at the intersection of brands, data, and the people who make decisions about both.

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It started earlier than most. I took my first job at 14, entered the insights industry at 19 while still in university, and opened my first office—for NFO Research in Minneapolis—one week after my 26th birthday. I didn't have a grand plan. I just kept saying yes to hard problems and interesting people.

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That path led me to launch the Angus Reid Group in the US then eventually to run Millward Brown (now Kantar) as Global CEO helping build it into a $1B consultancy spanning 78 offices in 51 countries. We worked with 81 of the world's 100 leading brands. It was the most extraordinary laboratory of marketing effectiveness I could have imagined—and a front-row seat to what separates companies that thrive from those that merely survive.

 

After Millward Brown, I did something unexpected: I briefly retired. It lasted about five minutes.

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IMAX Corporation recruited me as Chief Marketing Officer, and I discovered what it's like to sit on the client side of the table I'd spent decades advising. It was humbling. I learned what insights people actually need (hint: not another 80-page deck). During my tenure, IMAX experienced its highest growth cycle and stock performance, and Variety named me one of Hollywood's most influential marketing executives. More importantly, I learned that the gap between what research companies deliver and what clients genuinely need is wider than most of us want to admit.

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That realization led me to co-found Rival Group with Andrew and Jennifer Reid in 2018. We set out to reinvent how research gets done—mobile-first, conversational, built for how people actually communicate today. It's now approaching $50 million in revenue and was recently named the #6 most innovative research firm in the 2025 GRIT report — not too shabby for a company that's under 10 years old!   I've since stepped back from day-to-day management but remain an investor and the team's biggest cheerleader.

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The Board Table

I've been fortunate to serve on boards across the insights and technology landscape:

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• PureSpectrum — the fastest growing marketplace serving the MR industry (current)

• Monotype Imaging Holdings (NASDAQ: TYPE) — prior to its take-private sale

• Vision Critical — the SaaS customer intelligence platform

• Reimagine Holdings — a PE firm focused on technology-enabled consumer insights

 

I also sat on the board of C200, the women's executive leadership organization, where I lead the Marketing and Communications Committee. 

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What I Believe

After 30+ years in this industry, a few things have become clear to me:

The insights industry is at an inflection point. The winners in 2030 won't be the companies that collected the most data—they'll be the ones who made the leap from data collection to intelligence delivery. That transition is harder than it sounds, and most companies are further behind than they realize.

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Research has a reputation problem. We've been a bit slow to evolve, and it shows. The function is fundamental to business success, yet it's often saddled with the stodgy reputation of a gatekeeper. That has to change—and it starts with how we think about what we deliver and why it matters.

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Instinct isn't the opposite of insight. The best decisions I've seen—and made—came from leaders who did the rigorous analytical work and trusted the pattern recognition that comes from decades of experience. You need both. That's what "insight seasoned with instinct" means to me.

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The Personal Stuff

These days, I split my time between advisory work and life in Creemore, Ontario—a tiny village about 90 minutes north of Toronto. If you've seen any Hallmark movie ever, that's basically Creemore. I garden. I golf (badly) when I can get away with it.  But if I'm being honest, this crazy industry is still my first love.

 

I'm deeply involved in efforts to raise awareness about the life-giving power of organ donation—a cause that's personal to our family.

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Industry friends have taken to calling me "The Fairy Godmother of the Insights Industry." I'll take it. If I can help the next generation of leaders navigate what's coming—and avoid a few of the mistakes I made along the way—that's time well spent.

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Want to talk? I'm at eileen@womintuition.com.