Connection Point

The Link Group
  • 3.0 (2)
  • Marketing

Behind every insight is a person.    Connection Point is a new conversation series from The Link Group exploring the people behind the work. We uncover the instincts, experiences, and passions that shape how our guests think, listen, and show up. The people you trust with your most important questions aren't just skilled. They're genuinely curious about the world around them.   This is where you meet them.

Episodes

  1. 6m ago

    Jessica Caffrey on Mahjong, Pattern Recognition, and Bringing People In

    Jessica Caffrey has spent twenty years at The Link Group building things: research teams, project rosters, recruiting classes, and lately, a Mahjong habit she takes seriously. ​ A friend invited her to a series of Mahjong lessons: three sessions, three hours each, a very intense few days. A couple of years later, that group of women still plays every other week, and Jess has now taught the game to others. As a Partner at TLG, she specializes in quantitative research, staffing projects, and helping to build each year's new-hire class. ​ In this episode, host Shep Zoutewelle, a Research Director at TLG and Jessica's mentee for several years, talks with her about what building a winning hand has in common with building a quantitative story. Jess explains how she reads a messy hand the same way she reads a messy data set, why the context around your tiles matters as much as the tiles themselves, and what she looks for in people who may never have considered a career in insights.​ A conversation about analytical thinking, community, and knowing when to commit and when to pivot.​ Resources & Links: ​ Connect with Shep Zoutewelle on LinkedIn  Connect with Jessica Caffrey on LinkedIn   The Link Group https://www.tlg.com/ Interested in being a guest? Let us know. ​ConnectionPoint@TLG.com Thank you to our production team: ​ Reilly Galloway: Producer, Videographer, Editor ​ Haven Tyler: Sound Engineer Drew Young: Gaffer Executive Producers: Raven Laney, Nicole Johnson, and Maggie Borum

  2. Sep 24

    Mark Alkins on Teamwork, Adaptability, and Staying on Track​

    Mark Alkins was fast before he had a race to win. He started running cross country in seventh grade to stay in shape for basketball, and it quickly became his thing instead. By eighth grade, he'd broken a school record; running varsity track as a middle schooler, he went sub-five in the mile. By college, he was racing the 800 for UNC and part of the team that won an ACC Indoor Championship. Two years into his career as a research manager at The Link Group, he brings that same instinct to the job: stay adaptable, think a step ahead, and communicate clearly across the team.​​ Host Jeff Whiteside talks with Mark about what middle-distance running and relay racing teach you about pressure, pacing, and working as part of a team. The same skills he now leans on facilitating between clients, suppliers, and his own team. Mark also talks about coaching track at his old high school, a chance run-in with his coach on the Tobacco Trail, and why he thinks the relay is the best event in the sport.​ A conversation about mental toughness, team dynamics, and what it takes to keep getting better on the track and on a project team.​ Resources & Links: ​ Connect with Mark Alkins on LinkedIn Connect with Jeff Whiteside on LinkedIn The Link Group https://www.tlg.com/ Interested in being a guest? Let us know. ​ConnectionPoint@TLG.com Thank you to our production team: ​ Reilly Galloway: Producer, Videographer, Editor ​ Haven Tyler: Sound Engineer Drew Young: Gaffer Executive Producers: Raven Laney, Nicole Johnson, and Maggie Borum

  3. Aug 27

    Jeff Whiteside on Barbecue, Craft, and Unreasonable Hospitality

    Jeff Whiteside grew up in North Carolina, where barbecue is a way of life. Now, sixteen years into his career at The Link Group, he still cooks low and slow on weekends, documents and learns from every cook, and believes the best barbecue and the best research run on the same rules.​ ​ In this episode, host Nicole Johnson talks with Jeff about patience, preparation, and knowing your audience. He walks through the three "spices" he says every research project needs, talks about how barbecue keeps him connected to his community, and about a stretch of eastern North Carolina he stillcan't drive past without thinking of his grandfather. For Jeff, food carries as much memory as flavor.​ ​ A conversation about craft, community, and the kind of memory that outlasts the meal itself.​ Resources & Links: ​ Connect with Nicole Johnson on LinkedIn Connect with Jeff Whiteside on LinkedIn The Link Group https://www.tlg.com/ Interested in being a guest? Let us know. ​ConnectionPoint@TLG.com Thank you to our production team: ​ Reilly Galloway: Producer, Videographer, Editor ​ Haven Tyler: Sound Engineer Drew Young: Gaffer Executive Producers: Raven Laney, Nicole Johnson, and Maggie Borum

  4. Jul 23

    Melia Whiteside on Patience, Pivoting, and Growing Things That Last

    As a student at UNC, Melia Whiteside followed a flyer with the word "marketing" on it into an information session and discovered a career path that has kept her both challenged and fulfilled for the past 18 years. She is a Partner at The Link Group, a segmentation specialist, and someone who spends her off hours tending a garden she'll tell you is far more complicated than it looks.​ ​ In this episode, host Jessica Caffrey sits down with Melia to talk through what gardening and quantitative research share: patience, curiosity, knowing the tool is never the point, and what it feels like whensomething you worked hard on finally takes root. Melia also talks about why she'd be the tool that clearsthe weeds for everyone else, growing the same green beans from century-old seeds every summer, andwhat she hopes that kind of legacy looks like at TLG. She describes the company right now as firmly in aseason of spring.​ ​ A conversation about staying curious, embracing the process, and what it means to keep growing. Resources & Links: ​ Connect with Jessica Caffrey on LinkedIn Connect with Melia Whiteside on LinkedIn For more behind the scenes of Melia's garden, follow along here The Link Group https://www.tlg.com/ Interested in being a guest? Let us know. ​ConnectionPoint@TLG.com Thank you to our production team: ​ Reilly Galloway: Producer, Videographer, Editor ​ Haven Tyler: Sound Engineer Drew Young: Gaffer Executive Producers: Raven Laney, Nicole Johnson, and Maggie Borum​

  5. Jun 25

    Tom Pfeil on Culture, Curiosity, and the Long Game

    Tom Pfeil co-founded The Link Group in 1994 with a simple conviction: clients deserved better than what the market research industry was giving them. Thirty years later, TLG holds a 99% client retention rate and an employee turnover rate that most companies don't even come close to. In this episode, host Andrew Borum sits down with Tom to trace how it all started, from a one-man shop in Charleston to a 100-plus-person employee-owned company, and what it took to build a company both clients and employees didn't want to leave.​ Tom and Andrew cover the early days of saying yes to everything (including a Friday afternoon research request that had them in mobile research labs over the weekend), why Tom and co-founder Brad Camrud chose an ESOP over a sale to private equity, and how sports like pickleball and golf map surprisingly well to qualitative and quantitative research thinking. Tom also shares the one piece of advice he gives every new hire. And it has nothing to do with market research methodology.​ A conversation about building a business on culture, curiosity, and the long game. Resources & Links: ​ Connect with Andrew Borum on LinkedIn ​ Connect with Tom Pfeil on LinkedIn ​ The Link Group Official Website ​ Interested in being a guest? Let us know. ConnectionPoint@TLG.com ​ Thank you to our production team: ​ Reilly Galloway: Producer, Videographer, EditorHaven Tyler: Sound EngineerDrew Young: GafferExecutive Producers: Raven Laney, Nicole Johnson, and Maggie Borum​ ​

  6. Season 1 Trailer

    Connection Point - Trailer

    Connection Point is a new video podcast series from The Link Group. One-on-one conversations with the people behind the work. Find out where their instincts come from.

  • 1 Trailer
    5 Episodes

Trailer

Ratings & Reviews

3
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Behind every insight is a person.    Connection Point is a new conversation series from The Link Group exploring the people behind the work. We uncover the instincts, experiences, and passions that shape how our guests think, listen, and show up. The people you trust with your most important questions aren't just skilled. They're genuinely curious about the world around them.   This is where you meet them.

Information

  • Creator
    The Link Group
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    6
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Link Group