Large-scale sales and marketing initiatives have a significant data management component. Companies collect information about their target audience, analyze that information for clues about buyer preferences and adjust their outreach accordingly. When an enterprise needs help putting the puzzle pieces together, it brings in a go-to-market consultancy like GBK Collective. We recently caught up with the firm’s chief client officer, Rebecca Szew, to get an inside look at its work.

GBK Collective was co-founded in 2015 by former WPP executive Jon Greenwood and Eric Bradlow, the chair of Wharton’s marketing department. The firm helps companies optimize their go-to-marketing efforts. GBK Collective staffers can lend a hand with, among other tasks, the data management workflows involved in sales and marketing activities. The firm appointed Szew as CCO and partner in mid-February.

Boardroom Insight: There are software products that can extend primary research [buyer feedback collected by a firm to refine its business plans] with AI-generated synthetic customer feedback. What is the current state of this technology in terms of adoption and reliability?

Rebecca Szew: This is one of the most interesting conversations happening right now. AI-generated synthetic respondents can be incredibly useful for early exploration. They’re fast, scalable, and helpful for pressure-testing hypotheses before you invest in large-scale research. We sometimes use these tools to accelerate early-stage learning or refine research design.

But I’m careful about where we rely on them. There’s a difference between something sounding plausible and something being empirically reliable. For high-stakes decisions such as pricing, segmentation, and capital allocation, boards still need real-world validation.

I remember a board-level discussion several years ago – well before generative AI – where a CFO looked at a model we were presenting and asked a simple question: “What happens if this assumption is wrong?” It shifted the entire tone of the conversation. It wasn’t about whether the model was sophisticated. It was about downside risk.

Synthetic feedback can absolutely help you think better. But when you’re making material bets, decision-grade standards require transparency about assumptions, limitations, and risk. The governance side of this conversation is just as important as the innovation side.

At GBK, we’re leveraging AI thoughtfully as an accelerator and augmentation tool, but not as a substitute for empirical accountability.

Boardroom Insight: Large companies often have substantial in-house data analytics infrastructure and talent. When does it make sense to bring in an external consultancy?

Rebecca Szew: Most of our clients have exceptional internal teams. The question isn’t capability – it’s outside-in perspective, bandwidth, and objectivity. Companies face a growing set of challenges, and no two problems are the same. We empower our clients with a bespoke approach to research, insights, and analytics that starts with the problem we need to solve for, not the deliverable.

Often the moment when an external partner becomes most valuable is when the decision is politically or strategically sensitive. Internal teams can be constrained by history or existing narratives. An external voice can sometimes say what everyone is thinking but hasn’t articulated.

I’ve been in situations where two senior leaders interpreted the same data in completely different ways. What helped wasn’t more analysis – it was structuring the decision clearly and making the tradeoffs explicit. That’s often where we add value: not just producing insight but framing it in a way that aligns leadership.

Sometimes it’s also about specialization. Certain questions require advanced modeling or experimental design that internal teams don’t have the time to build from scratch, or pressure-test independently. Because we have experience working with Fortune 500 clients across industries, we can also apply cross-category learning and best practices that internal teams may not have visibility into. 

The best engagements feel like partnerships – not outsourcing thinking but strengthening it.

Boardroom Insight: When a consulting firm launches a new analytics project for a client, how does it put together the software stack that will be used in the initiative?

Rebecca Szew: We don’t start with tools. We start with the decision. I’ve seen too many projects where the software dictates the question. That’s backwards.

Early in my career, I was an analyst on a project where we used a very sophisticated modeling approach because it was available to us, not because it was necessary. The analysis was highly advanced and technical. The business decision was straightforward. In hindsight, we over-engineered the answer, and that was a disservice to this client.

At GBK, we ask: What choice needs to be made? How precise does this need to be? What’s the risk tolerance? What data already exists? 

From there, we design the analytical approach. Sometimes that means using entirely the client’s existing stack and layering in advanced modeling. Sometimes it means integrating survey platforms, econometrics, machine learning, or experimental design.

The goal isn’t technical sophistication for its own sake. It’s clarity and defensibility. The tools should enable transparency and validation, especially when decisions are high-stakes.

Boardroom Insight: After a company learns something new about its go-to-market situation that can improve revenue, how does it apply the information? Does the consulting partner simply send a report to the relevant executive?

Rebecca Szew: If the work ends with a report, something went wrong. Insight only matters if it changes behavior.

I remember early in my career being proud of a beautifully executed segmentation study – statistically elegant, extremely thorough. And months later, nothing had changed in-market. That was a turning point for me.

Since then, I’ve believed that our responsibility doesn’t end at analysis. We structure findings around the decision itself. We make tradeoffs explicit. We recommend a path forward.

And then we stay engaged through implementation conversations: what does this mean for messaging? For resource allocation? For measurement? Whether it’s brand positioning, communication effectiveness, CLV optimization, or portfolio strategy, we ensure the work translates into meaningful growth and ROI for the client.

The real test of our work isn’t whether it’s admired. It’s whether leaders move forward with clarity.

Photo courtesy of Unsplash