Q&A With Alexa Nightingale, Global Head of Financial Services Research and Partner at Opinium
Published on September 17, 2024
We're thrilled to introduce Alexa Nightingale, our new Global Head of Research & Insights, who spearheads the 2024 Salary Survey and QUARTERLY PULSE research initiatives.
Alexa is also a Partner and Global Head of Financial Services Research at Opinium,
Dive into our exclusive Q&A to discover more about Alexa's dual roles and her vision for transforming data into actionable insights.
Tell us about your career and current role as Global Head of Financial Services Research & Partner at Opinium
I’ve worked in research since the start of my career, joining the graduate scheme at a global research agency where I was working in the retail sector for five years before specializing in financial services at another firm in 2010. Quite frankly, I have never looked back!
I’ve always been fascinated by the sector, and in 2012 decided to embark on an exciting opportunity at Opinium to lead and grow our financial services offering. We’ve grown significantly since then, and so has my role. Financial services continues to be our largest sector and I lead our global FS team, working with clients across the industry from retail banking to asset management.
The insight I lead spans both consumer and business audiences and helps my clients shape marketing and communication strategies, drive better customer experiences, and successfully bring new products and services to market.
What are a few topics the financial brands you work with most interested in?
There has been a huge amount of disruption across the category in recent years, but also social, cultural, and economic events outside that have had a real impact on markets, as well as people’s finances and investments and how they approach them.
A key challenge for many of our global financial services clients is how they navigate this changing landscape; ensuring they are still communicating effectively, meeting the needs of vulnerable audiences, and delivering good customer outcomes. Regulation has only served to make this even more of a pressing issue for the industry and one that our clients are acutely aware of.
What is your perspective on the role of Generative AI in your work?
GenAI is certainly something that is helping to drive efficiency in our business and for our clients and there is still so much more potential to explore, but it won’t replace talking to human consumers any time soon. We are currently using it in desk research, to generate ideas for questions, check our copy, or write some analytical code, but it’s still a long way from replacing our research participants or relying on it to generate insights from the data we collect. Efficiencies and time savings for clients are the biggest wins so far!
What are you most excited about in working with Financial Narrative as Global Head of Insights?
One of the aspects of my role that I really enjoy is being able to have the opportunity to contribute my research knowledge to the wider financial services industry. Speaking on panels at industry events or partnering with organizations such as Financial Narrative has allowed me to meet some really interesting people, gain new perspectives, and broaden my financial industry knowledge. I am really excited to use my expertise to bring some of the emerging industry trends, opportunities, and challenges to light and uncover insights that FN members can use in their day-to-day roles.
What’s the best career advice you've ever been given?
That you can never be too experienced or senior to learn and develop new skills. Throughout my career, I have also tried to adopt a growth mindset, and this has meant often pushing myself outside of my comfort zone, but it has also meant my role is constantly evolving, interesting and relevant. I have been lucky that Opinium has allowed me to harness this mindset. We have a brilliant learning culture where everyone from interns to Research Directors are learning something new every day.
Alexa will discuss key findings from our 4th annual Salary Survey at an exclusive online roundtable, joined by a panel of experts on Thursday, September 19, 2024. Register below!
