“Managing a diverse group, I needed structure, strategy and confidence”

“Like most people in market research, I fell into the industry and never left,” laughs Niki Cameron CMgr FCMI. 

Some 20 years later, her career is still going strong. 

Niki is head of UK sales (Profiles Division) at marketing data and analytics company Kantar. While her team predominantly comprises sales professionals, she also manages operational specialists, describing the group as “a broad mix of skills, backgrounds and personalities”.

A baptism of fire

Niki has been at Kantar for 20 years, having joined as a graduate project manager straight from a management science degree at Lancaster. Market research, she says, is a close‑knit, friendly sector where everyone seems to know each other: “I’ve always found it a good place to be.”

Her degree had a strong focus on manufacturing efficiencies, logistics and change management. She believes that this made project management a natural first step. 

“I really enjoyed that,” she says, “both because of my degree background and because I like making things more efficient and effective.”

However, around 14 years ago, Niki moved into a fully commercial role in another part of the organisation. From there she worked her way up – first managing a couple of people, then a team of five and then progressively larger teams. For the last few years, she’s been leading the sales team. 

Niki’s sales director role was something of a baptism of fire, however.