Christian Niederauer reveals how Colgate-Palmolive connects data and embraces AI to transform insights into long-term business growth.
This article originally appeared on the Executive Insights channel of Greenbook, where forward-thinking market-research and insights professionals explore how to elevate their impact. Thank you to Greenbook for inviting MRII to host this exciting channel.
Q&A with Christian Niederauer, Vice President of Global Insights & Consumer Affairs at Colgate-Palmolive
On a recent episode of MRII’s Insights & Innovators podcast, Christian Niederauer, VP of Global Insights & Consumer Affairs at Colgate-Palmolive, reflects on Colgate’s transformation journey. From connecting the dots across data streams to embedding new competencies and embracing AI. Here are five key questions and answers, edited for brevity and clarity, that capture Christian’s practical lessons on how insights leaders can create lasting business impact.
Can you tell me what is the biggest challenge facing us as insights professionals today in a world that is becoming incredibly complex and competitive?
“For me, connecting the dots is a big, if not the biggest challenge at the moment, because today we have so many different sources of information and new ones are added as we speak. That’s why making sure you have the right sources connected together to answer the question the best possible way is for me one of the biggest challenges currently for our function.”
What do you think are the 2-3 things that the industry needs to do differently today to stay relevant going forward?
“First thing that usually comes to mind for me is really proactive value creation. We must be drivers of foresight, almost acting as strategic partners rather than just problem solvers or order takers.
The second one for me is to be curious and agile. The business landscape is changing faster than ever, so we really should continuously learn, experiment, and integrate new methods and technologies like generative AI and advanced analytics.
And last but not least, storytelling simplification. Insights professionals really need to master the art of simplifying complex data into compelling stories that are easy to understand and actionable.”
Colgate embarked on an insights transformation in 2023. Can you share a bit about the components of this transformation journey? What are the pitfalls that people should avoid?
“When we started the transformation in 2023, our first priority was to establish a clear North Star. That work gave us a shared vision of where we wanted to go as a function.
But a vision alone isn’t enough. Transformation requires listening broadly. We spoke not only with senior leaders inside Colgate, but also with external partners, peer companies, and industry experts. That helped us understand best practices, align on expectations, and ensure our roadmap reflected both internal needs and the evolving external landscape.
One of the most important lessons is that transformation cannot be driven top-down. You need both leadership sponsorship and grassroots involvement. At Colgate, we deliberately combined bottom-up input from teams with global guidance from senior leaders, so the process felt owned at every level of the organization.
Another key enabler was creating an Insights Competency Framework. This framework broke down what capabilities we needed into fundamentals, like methodological expertise and prioritization, and future-proof skills such as foresight, storytelling, and empathy. We didn’t just put this framework on slides; we embedded it into learning programs, role expectations, and self-assessments that directly shaped our annual training plan. That’s how you move from ideas to real capability building.
Finally, we put a heavy emphasis on measurement and accountability. Every initiative was broken down into clear actions, tracked against milestones, and revisited frequently. That ensured we stayed on course and could adjust as needed.
In terms of pitfalls, the biggest risk is treating transformation as a one-off project rather than an ongoing process. If you only launch initiatives without embedding them into systems and culture, they won’t stick. Another danger is trying to do everything at once and spreading resources too thin. Ruthless prioritization is essential. Perhaps the most common pitfall is focusing on frameworks and tools but neglecting the people. Without true engagement, training, and ownership from the team, even the best-designed transformation will stall.”
You used the phrase ‘Insights Competence Framework’… can you talk to us about some critical components of this framework and a few tips on how to bring those frameworks to life?
“We divided the competencies into two main pillars. One was called fundamentals and the other one future proof. Fundamentals includes things like solution expertise, ways of working, and ruthless prioritization. Future proof competencies are focused on strategic influence, curiosity, empathy, data curation, and storytelling.
The key success factor was working with our whole insights community, analytics, HR, and our global learning and development organization. We have an annual voluntary self-assessment, so everyone can see their strengths and weaknesses compared to their current or aspirational role. On an aggregated level, this informs our training schedule for the full year; to upskill the overall organization in a systematic way.”
What in your view is the biggest opportunity for the insights industry, given that the world of technology is here to stay?
“The biggest opportunity really lies in the combination of AI, generative AI, and predictive analytics. AI-driven insights, for example, using synthetic consumers, respondents, or digital twins, can significantly enhance our ability to forecast trends and predict consumer behavior much faster and potentially even better than before. We have to be at the forefront, embrace these things, benchmark them, and experiment with them.”
Closing Thoughts
Christian Niederauer highlights a balanced view of the future of insights: blending foresight, simplification, and agility with human judgment and stakeholder collaboration. Colgate’s journey shows that true transformation doesn’t come from top-down mandates, but from building frameworks, aligning across functions, and embedding continuous learning.
As Christian reminds us, earning credibility as insights professionals is about consistently putting points on the board and showing how insights drive decisions, growth, and impact.
Listen to the full episode of MRII’s Insights & Innovators podcast with Christian Niederauer here.
