Jennifer McLeod Macey is one of Canada’s leading research consultants.
The Toronto-based McLeod Macey is senior vice-president and regional lead, Canada, at Edelman DXI. Edelman Data & Intelligence (DXI) brings together the data, insight, analytics, research, data science and AI capabilities of Edelman — the global communications firm that partners with businesses and organizations to evolve, promote and protect their brands and reputations.
“I get satisfaction knowing that my work makes a difference. I'm helping people use their voice so that business or social decisions can be grounded in data,” McLeod Macey says.
Before joining Edelman, McLeod Macey was vice-president at Ipsos Public Affairs, and vice-president of public affairs at Pollara Strategic Insights.
Career challenge
“When I graduated from Concordia, I started working in market research, focusing on public affairs. In the past year, I switched from primary public-affairs research to an expanded market research and data intelligence role. The challenge is knowing when to make a change. It can be very difficult and scary, but I think we're always learning.”
The Concordia factor
“I remember the small classes and diverse backgrounds of the students during my graduate studies. I really embraced that — it allowed me to flourish. I learned as much from my peers as I did from my professors.”
Career advice
“The most important thing you can do as you develop your career path is to be honest and continue to learn. I really enjoy being a mentor. I'm always looking for a mentor as well, even at this stage in my career, because there's so much more we can learn from each other.”
Industry projections
“When I started my career, I was barely doing online surveys — there were a lot of telephone surveys. Now we're doing real-time measurement, looking at more than just opinions, but collecting data in different ways.”
Favourite pastime
“I don't have a ton of free time. When I do, I like to spend it with my friends and family as much as possible. I also enjoy getting lost in a book or riveting TV show.”