Louise Merry

Disrupting the status quo isn't just about rebellion for me (although I like to think sharing a birthday with punk icon Poly Styrene is no coincidence). It's a value-driven approach to business – and two Telegraph Innovator of the Year awards in three years demonstrate my impact on our commercial growth Amid seismic business transformation, I built a unified, cross-functional insights team of researchers, analysts and data scientists to bridge siloes and drive strategic alignment.

As Head of Insights and SEO at a subscription-first business, I strongly believe in the power of audience understanding and have democratised the data lake – a repository for our rich first-party intel – by creating tools that eliminate the need for specialised coding skills.  A subsequent reduction in low-complexity queries to my team has boosted efficiency and empowered colleagues to innovate. My focus on data proficiency culminated in co-launching Compass, an external-facing insights agency that won an AOP Award in 2024 for its impact on revenue diversification.