KIMRA CONVERSATIONS

Simon Burton
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Every year, KIMRA brings together the people shaping the future of knowledge, information management, research and analysis — the practitioners running transformation inside their organisations, the suppliers building the tools, and the analysts making sense of it all. The KIMRA Conversations Podcast takes that same community and keeps the conversation going all year round. Expect candid interviews and case studies on: How research and knowledge functions are actually building AI strategies that work — not just experimentingReal transformation stories from law firms, consultancies and professional services, told by the people who led themThe vendor and client sides of major AI implementations, side by sideWhat's really happening with data procurement, vendor consolidation, and pricing in the AI eraHow the research and knowledge professions themselves are evolving — and what it means for skills and careersSame community. Same sharp thinking. Now on demand.

Episodes

  1. 6d ago

    KIMRA Conversations, Episode 5: Maribeth Martorana, Sapient Advisors

    Maribeth Martorana has spent her career on the inside of some of the biggest names in financial information, FactSet, Moody's Analytics and the CFA Institute, before founding Sapient Advisors to help financial data and information businesses build and invest more wisely. In this episode, she talks to Simon Burton about her career path, and what she's seeing right now across the industry as firms rush to invest in AI. The conversation with Maribeth Martorana covers the challenges and successes of AI projects within information services businesses, focusing on mid-market firms. It delves into the importance of aligning business strategy, people, and processes before implementing AI solutions. The discussion also highlights the critical role of data quality and the need for strategic AI initiatives. The conversation delves into the impact of AI on information providers, the challenges of budgeting for AI solutions, the dynamics of data feed pricing, and the transformation of workflow solutions. It also explores the implications of AI investments for incumbent platform leaders and the need for operational efficiencies and upskilling. Takeaways Business strategy, people, and processes must be aligned before implementing AI solutions.Data quality is crucial for the success of AI projects.Strategic AI initiatives require clear business outcomes and executive sponsorship. AI's impact on information providersChallenges of budgeting for AI solutionsTransformation of workflow solutionsImplications of AI investments for incumbent platform leadersNeed for operational efficiencies and upskilling Chapters 00:00 Introduction and Business Transformation03:10 Challenges of Mid-Market Companies05:53 AI Implementation and Business Strategy07:23 The Role of Data and Workflows13:13 The Company Brain and Data Protection17:11 AI Project Failures and Success Factors22:01 Strategic AI Initiatives and Return on Investment24:02 Project Governance and Decision-Making27:13 AI's Impact on Information Providers28:29 Challenges of Budgeting for AI Solutions40:43 Transformation of Workflow Solutions47:27 Implications of AI Investments for Incumbent Platform Leaders

  2. Aug 20

    KIMRA Conversations, Episode 4: Max Friberg, Inex One

    Max Friberg spent years as a consultant using expert networks for due diligence work before founding Inex One, built specifically to bring together the fragmented world of expert networks into one place. In this episode, he tells Simon Burton what actually made him build the business, and why aggregating across so many different networks, rather than running just one, turned out to be the more valuable position to sit in. We talk about the huge value that vantage point brings to Inex One's clients, being able to see across a whole industry's worth of expert network usage rather than just one relationship, and what that reveals about how the industry is actually changing. Max shares where he sees real opportunity for clients in AI right now, and where, just as importantly, he thinks it still falls well short of what genuine expertise and tacit knowledge can offer.

  3. Aug 20

    KIMRA Conversations, Episode 3: CJ Anderson, Iron Carrot

    In this episode, Simon Burton talks to CJ Anderson, a qualified librarian with over 30 years in the information profession, and now founder of Iron Carrot a specialist data governance consultancy. CJ explains how she helps firms build the right foundations for AI, by having the right conversations, and building the accountability, ownership and clear decision making processes around data that set a firm up to enable AI. We discuss why real AI readiness starts with getting your data in order, why that foundation is built through people and process. We dig into what actually causes AI projects to go wrong inside law firms, where the accountability gaps tend to sit, who should actually own data governance within a firm, and the real risks of not having it in place. We also talk about what good governance looks like in practice versus governance that exists purely to tick a box, and the genuine opportunity all of this creates for knowledge and information professionals, who are often well suited to support or toead this work. CJ also shares her own career story, from her early years as a librarian through two decades of hands-on data governance work, and what ultimately led her to found Iron Carrot. A conversation about the unglamorous groundwork that actually determines whether AI adoption succeeds or quietly fails.

  4. Aug 17

    KIMRA Conversations Podcast, Episode 2: Dominic King, Accenture Research, Author Tools or Traps?

    Our latest KIMRA Conversations podcast with Dominic King from Accenture Research covered his latest book, "Tools or Traps? The Rising Social Cost of Unchecked Innovation" which talks about technology and the dependencies we build that are created with new technologies and how instant gratification is baked into the business models of many of these new technologies from social media to AI. We talked about technology, particularly AI, and how it's impacting the work of business researchers, what it means to truly think vs just deliver. As well as really digging into some of the issues around synthetic data and what that means in a market research context.

  5. Aug 4

    KIMRA Conversations Podcast, Episode 1: Ben Longman, Trendtype

    In our first ever KIMRA Podcast episode, Simon Burton talks to Ben Longman, founder and CEO of Trendtype, a specialist market intelligence company covering FMCG, consumer health and retail across Africa and the Middle East. Ben explains why so much data on African markets is poor or simply doesn't exist, why on-the-ground fieldwork keeps surfacing things desk research never would, and why AI can confidently hallucinate an entire academic source when the underlying evidence just isn't there. "we'll suddenly realize that that there is a value in expertise, a value in specialism, a value in on the ground research and and we'll realise that when people start making bad decisions and hitting some of those roadblocks."

  • 5 Episodes

About

Every year, KIMRA brings together the people shaping the future of knowledge, information management, research and analysis — the practitioners running transformation inside their organisations, the suppliers building the tools, and the analysts making sense of it all. The KIMRA Conversations Podcast takes that same community and keeps the conversation going all year round. Expect candid interviews and case studies on: How research and knowledge functions are actually building AI strategies that work — not just experimentingReal transformation stories from law firms, consultancies and professional services, told by the people who led themThe vendor and client sides of major AI implementations, side by sideWhat's really happening with data procurement, vendor consolidation, and pricing in the AI eraHow the research and knowledge professions themselves are evolving — and what it means for skills and careersSame community. Same sharp thinking. Now on demand.

Information

  • Creator
    Simon Burton
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    5
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Simon Burton