From Research to Business Partner: Isla Yu of Cathay Pacific at IIEX APAC

Disclaimer: Opinions represented here are personal and do not represent those of Cathay Pacific. Join us February 3-4, 2026 for the event. Find more information on IIEX APAC 2026 here!

As AI and data tools proliferate across organizations, what role should insights teams play next? In this sneak peek of her IIEX APAC session, Isla Yu, Head of Customer Insights at Cathay Pacific, shares how insights leaders can evolve from research executors to strategic business partners. Drawing on Cathay Pacific’s journey, she explores how blending AI with human judgment, emotion, and storytelling helps teams do more with less while driving real business impact.

Question #1: Give us a brief peek into your talk. What are the key insights and take aways?

My session is about rethinking the role of insights teams in a world driven by AI and data – when everyone in the organisation is asking different AI tools for “insights”, how should we position and safeguard the integrity of insights, while building agility to support the ever increasing needs around speed of insights? We’ll explore how to move beyond traditional research execution and adopt a business-partner mindset—connecting insights directly to strategic decisions. The key takeaways: how to start doing more with less, embedding a systematic understanding of emotion into decisions, and learn how to embrace AI to deliver insights that can truly influence business outcomes.

Question #2: You have a great topic. What led you to choose it?

I chose this topic because our industry is at a crossroads—technology is accelerating, but human connection remains critical. At Cathay Pacific, we’ve experimenting with blending AI capabilities with human understanding and empathy to create better experiences, all the while navigating rapidly changing internal needs and challenges, and I wanted to share that journey. 

Question #3: We are glad to have you with us. What would you like to learn from other speakers and attendees? 

I’m excited to learn how others are balancing automation with creativity, and how they’re building teams that stay agile and relevant in a rapidly changing insights landscape.

Question #4: Our industry is buzzing with the word innovation. What is research innovation to you?

To me, research innovation means moving beyond traditional, siloed methods and embracing diverse sources of knowledge—social listening, behavioral data, industry happenings etc. It’s about doing more with less, delivering insights faster, and integrating technology with human judgment to create agile, actionable solutions that keep pace with business needs.

Question #5: Research technology and automation are helping to streamline our cost and time. What else is at work to help insights professionals?

Beyond technology and automation, the biggest shift is in mindset. Insights professionals must evolve from being research executors to strategic business partners—bringing commercial acumen, storytelling, and influence to the table. This means that apart from integrating diverse data sources and collaborating across functions, they need to truly understand how the industry and the business works both commercially and operationally. 

Question #6: Greenbook works to move the insights industry and profession forward into the future. What is the biggest thing you would like to see change to improve for our industry?

I’d love to see a shift from siloed research to integrated insight ecosystems—where both qualitative and quantitative data, internal and external data, and human context come together seamlessly to guide strategic decisions.

Question #7: Speaking of the future, the IIEX conference series is a leader in leading discussion of insights future prediction. What do you see on the horizon that (hopefully) attendees can discuss at this event?

I see two big conversations ahead. First, the practical applications of AI—moving beyond hype to real use cases that enhance speed, creativity, and decision-making. Second, the question of capability ownership: should organizations build AI-driven insight capabilities in-house or outsource them to specialized partners? Both topics will shape how we evolve our teams, budgets, and partnerships in the years to come.