Breakfast (8:00am – 8:30am)

Welcome and State of the Industry (8:30am-8:40am) 

The Economy, Trade War and what it means for the Insights Industry (8:40am-10:30am) 

This session will start with an update on the economy including the impact of tariffs and other risks. The presentation will specifically highlight key impacts that insights CEO must consider in their planning.

Breakout table discussion to discuss answers to the following questions:

• What are the greatest risks to the insights industry?
• What opportunities are there for research agencies?
• What are you hearing from clients in impacted sectors?
• How can the industry collaborate on solutions?

A representative from each group will report back to the full room.

Break (10:30am – 10:45am)

Developments in AI that should be on the CEOs Agenda. (10:45am – 12:00pm)

This session will feature AI experts from the CRIC AI Committee highlighting the latest developments in artificial intelligence that should be on the agenda of industry leaders. It will explore data sovereignty and what that could mean for AI use in Canada. It will also look at AI developments (including digital twins and synthetic data) and how to include these in agency strategies. It will highlight updates from the CRIC AI Guidelines. And it will explore strategies to ensure the effective use of AI by agency staff.

Full Room Discussion: Following the panel, all participants will be encouraged to participate in the discussion and to ask questions of the panel.

Lunch (12:00pm – 1:00pm)

Culture, Talent and the Next Generation (1:00pm – 2:30pm)

Canada’s research agencies depend on a steady supply of curious, skilled young people, and they are competing for them against tech, consulting and government. At the same time, AI is absorbing much of the entry-level work that used to train new researchers, and hybrid work has changed how people learn, connect and build loyalty. Building a strong employee culture has never been more important. This session will start with a presentation on what culture actually looks like now and how advancements in AI have impacted culture. It will also examine what leaders must do to build a positive culture that engages employees across generations. Following this presentation, CEOs will move into tables to discuss what’s working in their own firms, what the challenges are and the top things they can do to improve culture in their agencies.

Breakout table discussion to discuss answers to the following questions:

• What’s working? Share one thing your firm does that genuinely engages employees. What makes it effective
• What’s not working? What causes good employees to leave, disengage or struggle in your firm, and why do you think that is?
• The AI question: as AI takes over entry-level tasks, how will your firm develop the next generation of senior researchers? What do you need them to learn, and how?
• What’s the top priority for agency CEOs and executives to improve culture over the next 90 days.

A representative from each group will report back to the full room.

Break (2:30pm – 2:45pm)

Data Quality as a Competitive Advantage (2:45pm-3:45pm)

Fraud, bots, AI-generated open-ends and professional respondents are now an existential trust issue. This expert panel will cover the economics of quality (who pays for it), emerging verification tools, panel sourcing transparency, and how agencies can turn quality into a selling point rather than a cost.

Full Room Discussion: Following the panel, the entire room will be invited to contribute to the discussion and ask questions of the panel.

Session Close (3:45pm-4:00pm)

All participants invited to share a key takeaway.  Ideas to improve the CEO Forum next year.

Participants will be encouraged to participate in informal networking following the forum