30Under30 Honouree: Maisie Ainsworth
Great to hear from Global 30 Under 30 Honouree, Maisie Ainsworth, an international insight manager at Marks & Spencer. She handles market, consumer and customer insights across both the Food and Fashion divisions of the International department, supporting M&S and their franchise partners to get closer to their customers. Maisie is passionate about being the voice of the customer and using insights to make informed, data-driven decisions. With experience across qualitative and quantitative research, brand tracking and strategic planning, she is highly competent at turning data into actionable insights. Maisie enjoys upskilling the wider business on customer data and insights with regular proactive stakeholder engagement to embed a customer-first mindset. Alongside this, Maisie is an active member of the AURA network, has represented young researchers at the annual &more MRS Conference, and enjoys networking with other market insight professionals.
How did you get into the industry and reach this point?
I started my career on the M&S Graduate Scheme, jumping between all sorts of roles across the business. At that point, I hadn’t even heard of ‘insights’ but, during a marketing rotation, I worked a lot with the Insights team and was instantly hooked. The way they turned customer data into stories and created customer-led strategies really resonated with me. After a couple more rotations across the sustainability and logistics departments, I joined the Sparks loyalty team as an Assistant Insight Manager and that’s where I really fell in love with research. I got to dig into customer behaviour, run research projects and see how insights could directly shape our loyalty strategy.
After that, I joined the M&S Food team as a Researcher, taking on brand tracking and leading my own projects. And now I’m in the International Customer team, looking after insights for M&S Food and Fashion across more than 70 markets. Most people don’t realise M&S is that global! It’s been fascinating exploring how consumers shop differently around the world and helping bring those insights to life.
Why should someone consider a career in market research, data and insights?
Client-side insight is such an exciting space to work in because you truly get to see the impact of what you do. We’re not just crunching numbers for the sake of it or relying on our own experiences as shoppers. We’re speaking directly to consumers to uncover what they really think, feel, and do, and then feeding that straight into big decision-making conversations.
What’s really rewarding is when you see a campaign, a product or a strategy that you know was shaped by the insights your team uncovered and shared with the wider business. The role is a great mix of creativity, curiosity and real-world impact. You can literally watch your data turn into action.
Career paths are rarely without challenges. Can you share a moment from your career when things didn’t go to plan, but the lessons learned remain with you to this day?
I was faced with a career challenge right after completing the graduate scheme. I felt ready to move upwards into an insight-focused role, but there weren’t any relevant positions available at the time. It would have been easy to find a non-insights role, just for the sake of moving up in my career, even if it didn’t align with my long-term career goals or strengths. Instead, I chose to be patient and intentional. I focused on building my insight skills and gaining relevant experience in my current role, so that when the right opportunity did arise, I could hit the ground running. A little while later, the perfect role became available, and I had the experience, knowledge, and confidence to step into it successfully. Looking back, I’m really glad I stayed true to the direction I wanted for my career. That period taught me the value of patience, strategic planning and continuously developing yourself, so you can be ready for the next challenge.
What two things should junior researchers focus on as they progress in their careers?
Don’t underestimate the power of being new to the industry! Fresh eyes are incredibly valuable. Use that perspective to challenge assumptions of key stakeholders. When you’re client-side or working with clients, you’re representing the voice of the customer. Part of that is reminding stakeholders that they’re not the typical customer, because they know the brand too well. Sometimes the most impactful thing you can do is take people out of their bubbles and put them in the shoes of ‘normal’ customers.
Secondly, start building a network. Talk to other researchers to hear about how they might have approached tricky projects, and if you’re client-side, build relationships across the business. Understanding the wider context of different channels and workstreams gives you the bigger picture you need to make your insights even more powerful and relevant for key strategic decision-making.
Do you have any advice for our sector?
When working with clients, or even when pitching to them for the first time, it’s essential to ensure your approach is genuinely tailored to the individual business, not just the wider sector. You build trust and credibility by demonstrating a deep understanding of how the organisation operates, who its customers are and what differentiates it from competitors. I’ve been in pitches that fall short because they lack that business-specific understanding and it can significantly undermine confidence in the agency
Is there anyone who has helped or supported you in your career who you’d like to acknowledge or thank?
I’m grateful for the brilliant managers who’ve supported my journey in insights and to the MRS team for inviting me to join their young researchers panel earlier this year