Welcome to the the Data Gurus Podcast! The world around us is changing faster than ever before. From automation, artificial intelligence, big data, geo-location to every aspect of how we work and live. This includes DATA. Welcome to Data Gurus Podcast… our mission is to bring you a real life perspective on what’s happening in the data industry and how successful companies and individuals in this niche navigate through the sea of change. Encouraging you to Be Bold, Be Brave and Be Fearless – Let’s navigate the Data Ecosystem together.
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What is Data Gurus Podcast | Insights on Business Strategy, Mergers and Acquisitions, Market Research & Data Collection?
Data Gurus Podcast | Insights on Business Strategy, Mergers and Acquisitions, Market Research & Data Collection is a business podcast hosted by Sima Vasa, with 259 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.
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Sima Vasa hosts Data Gurus Podcast | Insights on Business Strategy, Mergers and Acquisitions, Market Research & Data Collection, a business show with 259 episodes published.
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Data Gurus Podcast | Insights on Business Strategy, Mergers and Acquisitions, Market Research & Data Collection
Why Survey Data Still Powers the World’s Biggest Decisions with Michael Ramlet of Morning Consult
Aug 18, 202638 min
On this episode, host Sima Vasa talks to Michael Ramlet , Co-Founder and CEO of Morning Consult . Michael shares how Morning Consult has scaled from a startup with a newsletter to a global leader in delivering real-time consumer insights used by central banks, hedge funds and Fortune 500 companies. He explains why owning the supply chain for data collection is critical to quality, how the industry must embrace cultural change, and the importance of connecting insights to financial outcomes. KEY TAKEAWAYS (03:31) Real-time data is essential for informing business decisions at the highest levels. (05:53) Controlling the supply chain of data collection leads to better quality and cost efficiencies. (10:42) Ownership of quality requires end-to-end accountability, not reliance on third parties. (14:04) Insights functions must connect their work directly to financial outcomes to stay relevant. (19:44) AI can democratize access to structured data, making insights more actionable across organizations. (21:29) The role of insights teams is evolving — those who don’t adapt risk becoming obsolete. (25:32) Finance teams are emerging as key users of insights data alongside marketing and strategy. (30:32) Aligning company culture around intensity and accountability is key to sustaining growth in a fast-changing industry. Thanks for listening to the Data Gurus podcast, brought to you by Infinity Squared. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a 5-star review to help get the word out about the show, and be sure to subscribe so you never miss another insightful conversation. RESOURCES MENTIONED Morning Consult Website #Analytics #MA #Data #Strategy #Innovation #Acquisitions #MRX #Restech
Data Gurus Podcast | Insights on Business Strategy, Mergers and Acquisitions, Market Research & Data Collection
#278: The Leadership Playbook Has Changed with Kelly Monahan of Beyond the Desk
Jun 23, 202635 min
Kelly Monahan , Co-Founder of Beyond the Desk , joins host Sima Vasa to challenge the assumption that AI is responsible for today’s workforce crisis. Kelly argues that shareholder-primacy doctrine, adopted wholesale since a 1970s Milton Friedman op-ed, created the fragile leadership culture now cracking under macroeconomic pressure — and that AI is being used as a convenient scapegoat. Kelly also covers Gen Z’s rejection of corporate theatrics, the three foundational skills for AI literacy and why the future of work is likely to be smaller, more distributed and harder to navigate without domain expertise. KEY TAKEAWAYS 00:00  Introduction. 03:50  A single 1970s op-ed reshaped business philosophy and created today’s command-and-control culture. 07:45  Predicting engagement scores from one boardroom question about trust reveals deep leadership gaps. 12:30  AI is being used as cover for bad strategy, not as the primary cause of workforce disruption. 17:20  Only 30% of Gen Z aspires to leadership, signaling a values crisis for corporate America. 23:00  The PLOT framework helps leaders share power, listen, own outcomes and extend trust to Gen Z. 27:30  Domain expertise, not tool familiarity, is the true first pillar of AI literacy in any organization. Thanks for listening to the Data Gurus podcast, brought to you by Infinity Squared. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a 5-star review to help get the word out about the show, and be sure to subscribe so you never miss another insightful conversation. RESOURCES MENTIONED Reclaim the Plot (Kelly Monahan’s book): https://reclaimtheplotbook.com Beyond the Desk: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beyond-the-desk-llc #Analytics #Data #Strategy
Data Gurus Podcast | Insights on Business Strategy, Mergers and Acquisitions, Market Research & Data Collection
Why 85% of Thought Leadership Fails with Mike Nash of KS&R
Jun 9, 202634 min
Mike Nash , CGO of KS&R , joins Sima Vasa to make the case that thought leadership is now one of the last places where B2B companies can genuinely differentiate, and that the gap between volume and quality has never been wider. Mike argues that original insight, not AI-assisted content, is the only thing that changes how executives see a problem, and breaks down the three-pillar framework KS&R uses to evaluate whether a piece of work actually qualifies. He also introduces the ECHO Index, KS&R’s new synthetic data governance product designed to help firms evaluate which synthetic models to trust. KEY TAKEAWAYS 00:00  Introduction 05:52  Original insight, not optimised content, is what defines quality thought leadership 08:42  90% of executives use thought leadership to guide purchases, only 15% call it quality 11:30  Thought leadership departments are now appearing in construction and manufacturing firms 18:55  The tension in a topic is the hook, and finding it takes deliberate front-end work 24:05  KS&R Echo brings governance and transparency to synthetic data model selection 27:10  Speed and cost dominate synthetic mandates, but one bad decision erases the ROI Thanks for listening to the Data Gurus podcast, brought to you by Infinity Squared. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a 5-star review to help get the word out about the show, and be sure to subscribe so you never miss another insightful conversation. RESOURCES MENTIONED Mike Nash: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-nash-ksr KS&R LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ks&r The Global Thought Leadership Institute: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtli-apqc KS&R ECHO Index (Synthetic Data Governance): https://www.ksrinc.com/ksr-introduces-the-echo-index-to-bring-greater-transparency-and-governance-to-synthetic-data/ #Analytics #Data #MRX
Data Gurus Podcast | Insights on Business Strategy, Mergers and Acquisitions, Market Research & Data Collection
Digital Twins and the Limits of Synthetic Behavior with Olivier Toubia of Columbia Business School
May 26, 202629 min
Dr. Olivier Toubia , Glaubinger Professor of Business at Columbia Business School , joins Sima Vasa to discuss his landmark study building digital twins from over 2,000 real participants — and what the results reveal about the genuine limits of synthetic data in market research. Olivier explains why digital twins skew hyper-rational, why a 0.2 correlation with real human behavior is the honest benchmark, and why the “better, faster, cheaper” promise of synthetic data still has a question mark on “better.” Olivier also covers the hybrid panel model for keeping digital twins calibrated over time, the structural advantage of within-person A/B testing with synthetic respondents, and what the neuromarketing hype cycle can teach the industry about moving faster toward evidence-based answers. KEY TAKEAWAYS 00:00  Introduction. 02:07  From operations research to marketing, Conjoint analysis and capturing human preferences with math. 03:54  The adoption cycle repeats: every new technology prompts replication before reimagination. 05:44  How synthetic data evolved from basic LLM personas to data-rich digital twins with real heterogeneity. 11:54  The 0.2 correlation finding: digital twins and humans, and calibrating what that actually means. 14:41  Twins skew hyper-rational, struggle with affect-based decisions, and perform better on text than video. 17:06  The “holy grail” of “better, faster and cheaper,” and why “better” still carries the biggest question mark. 23:33  The hybrid panel model: synthetic at scale, small human sample running alongside to keep twins honest. Thanks for listening to the Data Gurus podcast, brought to you by Infinity Squared. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a 5-star review to help get the word out about the show, and be sure to subscribe so you never miss another insightful conversation. RESOURCES MENTIONED Columbia Business School Digital Twins Lab https://business.columbia.edu/ai-in-business/labs/digital-twins-lab Prolific https://www.prolific.com Hugging Face (Digital Twins dataset) https://huggingface.co/datasets/LLM-Digital-Twin/Twin-2K-500 Qualtrics https://www.qualtrics.com #Analytics #Data #MRX
Data Gurus Podcast | Insights on Business Strategy, Mergers and Acquisitions, Market Research & Data Collection
Diversity as a Business Imperative with Dr. Poornima Luthra
Apr 28, 202635 min
Dr. Poornima Luthra, Author, Educator and Keynote Speaker, joins Sima Vasa to make the evidence-based case that DEI backlash is rooted in fear, not fact, and that most organizations have never done the systemic work required to make inclusion stick. Poornima draws on two years of primary research — interviews, discourse analysis and emotion coding — to identify five core fears driving resistance and explains why reframing DEI as uniqueness, fairness and belonging changes the entire conversation. She also covers what active allyship actually requires and why homogeneous organizations can’t generate the innovation that today’s business environment demands. Key Takeaways: 00:00 Introduction. 10:15 DEI resistance exists on a spectrum, from hesitation to overt backlash, and is always rooted in fear. 12:24 Five fears drive the backlash: change, getting it wrong, discomfort, taking action and lack of positive impact. 16:00 Short-term metrics obsession is the structural reason organizations fail to sustain inclusion work. 19:09 Diverse hiring in a regulated pharma AI team succeeded when leadership committed to a longer onboarding runway. 21:00 Most data still shows that majority dominant groups hold the vast majority of top roles and wealth. 23:47 Reframing DEI as uniqueness, fairness and belonging neutralizes the opposition because everyone wants those things. 29:22 Active allyship requires self-work first: curiosity, honest introspection on privilege and bias buddies for ongoing accountability. Resources Mentioned: “The Art of Active Allyship” by Dr. Poornima Luthra — https://www.amazon.com/Art-Active-Allyship-Behaviours-Inclusion/dp/8797290327 Dr. Poornima Luthra TED Talk (2019) — “Why GQ is the kind of intelligence we all need” — https://www.ted.com/talks/poornima_luthra_why_gq_is_the_kind_of_intelligence_we_all_need Thanks for listening to the Data Gurus podcast, brought to you by Infinity Squared. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a 5-star review to help get the word out about the show, and be sure to subscribe so you never miss another insightful conversation. #Analytics #Data #Strategy
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